Haunting Memories
by stephfarrow94
Summary: No matter how hard you try, you can't always escape the past. B26, BelxFran. Sequel to 'Teach Me, Senpai'. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a continuation to my old fic 'Teach Me, Senpai'. It takes place after the last side-story I did for it, 'Mending Arguments'. **

Fran became bored easily, Bel had learnt over their months together. It wasn't as simple as sitting the younger male down and playing a few video games with him to keep him occupied; he required constant stimulation or else he fell into a funny mood where he would close himself off and not let anyone come near him. Bel had discovered the simplest way to keep his boyfriend busy was to get him out of the house for a while each day where he could distract himself with whatever he saw fit instead of being forced to stay inside with limited activities.

Bel was quick to pick up the signs that he would again have to send Fran outside; it always started with the boy sitting on the couch, his knees drawn up to his chest as he stared blankly around him. If the blond was quick enough to respond, a quick tap on the shoulder should be enough to snap him out of it – if he were left alone for too long, it would be harder to bring him back to reality.

"Froggy?" Bel reached out, careful not to use too much pressure as he tapped a frail shoulder. He didn't move when his lover flinched, instead waiting for Fran to look at him. "Froggy, are you alright?"

Fran blinked a few times before he nodded, confusion prominent in his eyes. "Yes, senpai..."

The blond glanced back towards the kitchen, wary of leaving his soup on the stove unsupervised. "Are you sure? Do you want to go for a walk?"

The smaller male was still for a few seconds before he nodded again, lifting himself off the couch slowly. "Okay..."

Bel went back to the kitchen, turning the stove off. He moved the pot onto a cool broiler before he left the room again, walking into the dining room. He found his young lover grabbing the dog leash from the cupboard against the far wall, following the boy towards the sliding glass door and eventually into the backyard.

"Where are you going to go today, Froggy?" Bel was always careful to make sure he knew what Fran was planning; if something happened, he wanted to be able to get there as fast as he could, after all.

Fran leant down as his dog approached him, clipping the leash onto the purple collar. He shrugged. "Maybe down to the river, senpai... Mamoru can have a swim while we're there..."

"Alright, Froggy; just be careful, alright?" Bel closed the distance between them, kissing his lover on the forehead. "How long will you be?"

Fran blinked, as if he really hadn't thought that far ahead. "...Dunno... Maybe an hour or two..."

Bel sighed, knowing Fran wasn't in the most coherent headspace right now. "Okay. Do you have your phone on you?"

"Yeah." Fran pulled away as the older male reached out to touch him, diverting his gaze to the ground. "...I'll be back soon, senpai..."

"Be safe." Bel stood where he was, watching Fran move to the side gate in order to leave the property. He would have loved to go with the younger and make sure he was alright, but he was in the middle of cooking their lunch, and he wanted Fran's tummy to be filled the second he came back home instead of having to wait.

Sometimes Fran really worried the blond.

_**~~XX~~**_

The aforementioned river wasn't far from Fran's home; it was a ten minute walk, and Mamoru always kept him company on their journeys together. The German shepherd was a loyal pet, and the boy didn't know what he'd have done without the pup by his side.

"Alright, Mamoru... Let's cross." Teal eyes had looked both ways before their owner crossed the road, the pup following obediently by his side. "Think anyone else will be down here today?"

Fran always came down to the river, sometimes with Bel and sometimes without. It was somewhere quiet for him where he could be by himself and just think about things without the stress of having to deal with other people. He always went off the cement walking path and down into the bush, treading through dirt so that he could make his way down to the riverbed. Not many people strayed off the path, so it was rare that he was bothered by anyone else down here.

"Want to play fetch?" Fran picked up a stick, waving it in the air for the puppy to see. He felt his mind start to clear as Mamoru barked and wagged his tail happily, bowing down on his front paws as he jumped around excitedly. "Alright, then... Fetch, Mamoru."

Tossing the stick into the water, Fran watched as his pet jumped in, swimming out to get it. He braced himself once the animal had come back onto land, having never liked getting wet whenever the dog shook himself dry; Mamoru was long-haired, and it seemed he always picked up more water than one would think possible.

"Mamoru..." Fran sighed as he wiped the droplets from his face, having never been able to stay angry with his beloved pet. "Again?"

Mamoru panted in excitement as he waited for the stick to be tossed again. He dived straight back into the water once it was thrown, swimming around for a while longer as he searched for where it had landed.

The boy sat down on the dirt as he waited for the animal to come back. He picked at the grass beside him absentmindedly, listening to the birds chirping away in the trees above them. He turned when he heard footsteps coming down the trail, expecting it to just be another bushwalker, so he was surprised when someone dressed _far _too fancily for this kind of terrain approached him.

Getting back to his feet, Fran put distance between them, stopping only when he felt shallow water beneath his feet. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can." The man smiled, brushing dirt off the black slacks he wore. The matching jacket gave Fran the impression he was dealing with a business man – but why would one come all the way out here, dressed like this? "I'm looking for someone, actually. Maybe you know of him?"

Fran blinked, remaining silent. He heard Mamoru's approach, turning to find the dog swimming back to shore with the stick in his mouth.

"See, he went missing quite a few years ago, but I heard he's in this general area." Dark eyes shone brightly as they regarded Fran, narrowing once they noticed the wet dog bringing the stick over to him. "He was... Get away from me, you stupid mutt!"

Fran's eyes widened as he watched the stranger punch his dog in the head, a gasp escaping his lips. He tensed at the pup's yelp, not blaming the animal for dropping the stick to the ground and then putting his tail between his legs as he ran over to the side, watching warily over his shoulder as if he expected the man to chase after him.

"Don't hit my dog!" Fran demanded, greatly angered by such treatment towards the sweet puppy. "Leave me alone, or I'm calling the police!"

Fran stumbled backwards as the other suddenly lunged at him, falling in the water. He winced, knowing his phone was in his pocket and most likely submerged – he hoped with all his being it would still work and that he could get away from this attack.

"Get off me!" Fran shouted, trying to push the other away. "Get off!"

The struggling stopped once the loud barking filled the air, the German shepherd snarling as he ran at the two with his teeth bared. He latched onto the man's arm as he snarled, turning his head side-to-side.

"Stupid thing!" The stranger reached out, grabbing the stick Mamoru had dropped previously. He whacked it down on the animal's head hard enough for blood to start falling to the ground, but it wasn't until the seventh whack did Mamoru finally let go, yelps once again sounding. "Fucking mongrel!"

Fran, who had been trapped beneath the other, brought a hand to his mouth as he watched a revolver being pulled from those expensive pants and aimed at his dog. He felt tears slide down his cheeks at the deafening bang, unable to stomach hearing the agonised keens of his pet as Mamoru staggered away, blood trailing behind him.

The boy was silent as the revolver was turned to him next, the tears slipping down his cheeks and onto the surface of the water beneath him.

"Finally found you again... Fran..." A twisted smirk crossed the man's face as he raised the revolver, bringing it down hard against the boy's head.

Fran whimpered at a sudden explosion of pain, the feeling of blood dribbling down his face, and then it all went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Bel was content sitting on the couch as he watched the TV. He had been lucky to find a comedy movie playing on one of the channels, and with his trusty bowl of ice cream, the blond was comfortable as he waited for Fran to come home.

The older male had a habit of checking his watch whenever Fran went out. Sometimes he did it consciously, and other times subconsciously, but either way it made Bel feel better; he felt in control of himself having an estimate as to when to expect his lover to come back, knowing that if anything _did _happen, he would find out sooner rather than hours later.

Fran had only been gone for an hour or so, which was normal; he had a habit of going out and losing track of the time, only to come home and sheepishly apologise for worrying his boyfriend. Bel learnt that if Fran said he'd be gone for two hours, he'd come back in twice that time.

Everything seemed normal as the movie played. Bel smiled at the dialogue before he laughed, reaching up to run his fingers through his blond locks. He was in a great mood, having the time of his life.

_This strawberry ice cream really goes with the movie~ _Bel licked his spoon clean, twirling his tongue around it in a semi-seductive manner, before he dipped it back into his half-melted treat. _That doesn't make much sense, but – what's that?_

Bel glanced over the back of the couch, sure that he had heard something unusual. He frowned as he grabbed the TV remote, muting the volume. He listened carefully for a few seconds, but when he didn't hear it again, he put the sound back on.

Minutes passed, and Bel was certain he kept hearing something, but upon investigation throughout the house, he found nothing could have been making the high-pitched whining noise. Sighing to himself, he sat back down on the couch, _trying _to enjoy his movie.

_I think it's stopped again. _Bel turned the volume up louder, hoping to drown it out if it came back. _At least now I can – for fuck's sake..._

Bel was agitated as he heard someone knock at his front door. If it didn't sound so urgent, he may have ignored it, but he was worried that it may be Fran on the other side of the door for one reason or another.

However, upon answering the door, Bel found something he most certainly wouldn't have expected in a _lifetime_; one of his neighbours stood on the doorstep with a panicked look on his face, a blood-covered, whimpering Mamoru in his arms.

"What the – Mamoru!" Bel took the quivering dog from the other man, holding him tight. He winced as he felt blood cling to his skin, his first thought that Fran may be hurt, too. "What happened?!"

"He was on your doorstep, crying." The dark-haired man looked panicked. "I heard him, so I came out to look, and...!"

Bel bit his lip as he looked around, not a sign of Fran anywhere. "Froggy...?"

The neighbour was silent, understanding that something had happened – it wasn't just the dog that looked as if it were dying; it was the fact that the boy who lived here also had seemingly gone missing after what looked to be an assault.

"Fran!" Bel raised a hand to his mouth, biting at his fingernails in distress. He turned back to his neighbour, speaking in a strained voice. "Can you take him to the vet for me? I need to find my boyfriend."

The man wasted no time in taking Mamoru over to his own car, carefully putting the dog in the backseat before he ran inside to grab his keys. Bel, likewise, grabbed his, making sure to grab his phone as well.

Bel drove down to the river, disregarding all laws, speeding and then taking his car off the road in order to park as close to the bushland as possible. He had been dialling numbers during the drive, trying to get through to someone who could help him.

"What, brat?"

Bel let out a sigh of relief at Squalo's voice. He had just gotten out of the car and ran onto the walking path, heading towards where he knew Fran always went. "Squalo... I think someone's hurt Froggy!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Squalo growled, "What...?"

"His dog... They went down to the river, and... Mamoru's hurt, and covered in blood... I don't know where Froggy _is, _Squalo!"

"Calm down, Bel. Tell me what happened."

"...Froggy went for a walk... with his dog... Only Mamoru came back, and... I think someone shot him..."

"Shot Mamoru?"

"Yes!"

"Fuck... Where are you, Bel?"

"At the river, looking for Froggy..."

Squalo started shouting at these words, and Bel could hear the panic in his voice. "Stay the fuck away, you dumb shit! What if they're still there and they shoot _you?!_"

"I won't leave Froggy!" Bel demanded stubbornly. "What if he's hurt?!"

"That's why I'm gonna call Hibari, you dumb fucking... Don't go _anywhere _until Hibari gets there! Got it?!"

"..."

"Got it?!"

"...Yes..." It killed Bel to stop running and instead turn back to his car; what if Fran had been shot and was bleeding out somewhere, alone, scared and in pain? What if waiting for Hibari to arrive was the difference between life and death for Fran?

"Good. Stay where you are and for fuck's sake, _don't _get hurt – or worse." With that said, Squalo hung up.

Bel trembled as he got back into his car. He locked the doors, feeling exposed out here, but he would wait as he had promised Squalo – he would _never _abandon Fran and go back home.

"Froggy..." Bel clicked his boyfriend's contact number again, hearing the operator tell him over and over that the call couldn't be connected. He was frustrated, just wanting to know if Fran was alright or not. "Froggy, where are you...?"

It felt like an eternity before the distant wailing of police sirens caught Bel's sensitive ears. He glanced into his side mirror, seeing the flashing of lights slowly getting closer. When at last the police cruiser pulled up beside his car, Bel got out, meeting Hibari and his police partner, Kusakabe, behind the two vehicles.

"The shark herbivore told me what happened," Hibari explained. "Do you know where it would have happened?"

Bel nodded, turning around to lead the two officers to Fran's favourite spot. They didn't even get halfway before the skylark stopped them, his sharp eyes catching sight of blood.

"It's a trail." The younger cop followed it, the other two behind him. "Kusakabe, follow it in the other direction and see where it ends."

The oldest male nodded as he left the scene, knowing to investigate every lead possible – if they were lucky, the blood trail would lead to a somewhat-safe Fran.

"I think that's the dog's blood..." Bel muttered as he continued to lead Hibari down the steep hills that led to Fran's favourite spot. "He came back to my house..."

"The shark herbivore said that." Hibari was quiet as they travelled, always alert at the slightest of noises; they could take no chance that the attacker was still out here and willing to shoot at_ them. _"Is it alright?"

"The neighbour took him to the vet for me..." Bel stumbled over a tree root before he regained his balance, the skylark having grabbed him before he could fall. "Do you think they'll be okay...?"

Hibari didn't reply – he _couldn't_; in his line of job, he saw people lose their lives every day. He had searched for missing persons that might _never _be found, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save everyone. The possibility that Fran could fall into any of those statistics was too real for him to even _bother _giving Bel what could turn out to be false hope.

Bel understood, not pushing the subject.

The walk only took a few more minutes for them to complete and, in that time, the blood trail seemed to become thicker, as if the loss of blood had been much more prominent here than it was back where they had sent Kusakabe away.

Hibari knelt down, picking up a thick stick that seemed so out of place sitting in the middle of the clearing. He examined it, finding the base saturated with blood; it had definitely been used as an assault weapon, but it was too early to tell on who.

"Is there any chance he would have gone deeper into the bush if he had escaped?" Hibari questioned, finding scuffle marks and puddles of blood in the dirt. His experience with these situations told him that someone had been on the ground, struggling to get another person off them.

Bel shook his head. "He wouldn't have gone _anywhere _without the dog, and... no way..."

"He might have crawled somewhere to hide. Check the surrounding area. Try not to call out too loud in case someone's around."

Bel nodded. He made sure to scrutinise the littlest detail in search of his lover but nothing he did made Fran resurface. The blond was feeling hopeless, as if he had failed Fran by not being here to protect him. He wanted to cry, but part of him felt as if crying was admitting he would never see the boy again.

Squalo and Tsuna had eventually found them wandering the bush, the long-haired male as loud as ever as he stressed about the blond's wellbeing. Tsuna was timid, but he looked very distressed by the news – they both were distraught, the two having fallen down one of the steep drop-offs as they raced to catch up to the others and find out what had happend.

"There's nothing here," Hibari admitted after an hour. "There's no green herbivore, nor anyone to question. I've gathered all the evidence already. We'll go back to the prince herbivore's home and talk about what to do next; it's not safe staying out here like this."

Bel felt numb as Squalo wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him close. He stared blankly ahead of him as he was guided back up the path and, when he was eventually put in his car, did nothing but rest his forehead against the steering wheel.

"I'll drive him back," Tsuna offered, knowing it had been Squalo's car they had carpooled in and that the silver-haired male wasn't the most trusting when it came to letting others drive his car. "Belphegor, jump over into the passenger seat."

Bel was like a robot as he climbed across the car. He didn't even bother putting his seatbelt on, and Tsuna didn't have the heart to treat him like a child and remind him of it. He instead took the keys from the blond and put them in the ignition, starting the vehicle up.

One-by-one the cars pulled back onto the road, Hibari in the lead. While the other two drivers were sitting on the speed limit, Tsuna was falling behind them, worried about having an accident while his passenger wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

"I'm sure Fran will be okay," Tsuna tried to comfort. He didn't take it personally when the other remained silent, knowing that if he were in Bel's shoes, he would be just as upset. "He's tough when he needs to be."

"Froggy and I had a fight a few days ago..." Bel was hesitant, uncomfortable with exposing his fears. "...I told him I needed some time to myself, but... he thought I wanted to break up with him... I got agitated, and he said some really hurtful things... I told him to get out, but... he was too stubborn to do so... We finally talked it out and got over it, but... I'm worried that if something happens, he might only think of our fight... What if... he thinks I hate him, or won't look for him...?"

"That won't happen," the brunet promised. "Fran _loves _you, and he knows _you _love _him_. You both have been through so much together, and you've always pulled through."

"..." Bel continued to stare out of the window, not knowing what to think. He was terrified that Fran would be badly hurt, or that they'd never find him – but most of all, he was blaming himself for this happening; if he had just gone with Fran..

Tsuna reached over, patting Bel on the knee.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Are you gonna find Froggy...?" It had taken a while to get Bel back into reality, but once he had been brought back into his own home and sat on the couch, a warm cup of tea in his hands, he was doing better.

Hibari and Kusakabe looked at each other before the taller male stepped forward, his voice soft. "We're going to do what we can and hope we do. We're going to take the evidence we recovered back to the station and have a forensics team examine it; hopefully we'll get some leads off that. We'll decide where to go from after."

Bel nodded, taking a sip of his tea. He sighed, moving closer to the warm body sitting next to him. Squalo looked uncomfortable as the younger male rested against him, but he wrapped his arm around Bel anyway.

"What are we going to do about Bel?" the long-haired male asked. "We can't leave him like this." Tsuna nodded in agreement.

"Whatever you see fit, herbivore. We can't – get down!"

Bel flinched at the sound of smashing glass. He was knocked off the couch by Squalo, and he started trembling as he heard the screeching of car tyres being forced into action, disappearing off down the street.

"What the fuck was that?!" Squalo shouted as he sat up, pulling the two younger males with him. "Fucking piece of shit!"

Neither cop responded as they approached the object that had been thrown through the window. They were wary, considering the possibility that it could be a bomb they were dealing with. However, to their relief it wasn't a bomb; it was merely a phone.

"That's Froggy's phone!" Bel exclaimed, pointing to the object. "Why's it... here...?"

Hibari picked the device up, taking into account the fact that it had obviously been submerged in water; said liquid was leaking out the back, and the device just wouldn't turn on at all.

Turning to Kusakabe, the younger cop said, "Get a team out there to search the waters."

Kusabake nodded as he left the room in order to talk on his phone.

Bel was still trembling, not knowing what to think; had they somehow pissed someone off or something...? Why had someone attacked Fran, and then taken it out on Bel, too...? That couldn't be right; they kept to themselves and didn't interact with _anyone, _really... So why...?

"Let's go, Belphegor."

Bel blinked as he felt Squalo tugging him to his feet. "Where?"

"To my car, dipshit. Walk!"

"Why?" Bel was truly in too much of a daze to think coherently.

"Because there's no fucking way you're staying here by yourself – not while some asshole's out there doing this."

The blond nodded, not in the mood to argue. He let himself be taken out to Squalo's car, and he didn't resist as he was pushed into the backseat. Squalo and Tsuna spoke to Hibari for a few more minutes before they, too, got in the car, and the next thing Bel knew, he was being taken back out to the very orphanage he had come from.

Even after all these years, Bel still had the support of the adults who had given him and Fran the lives they had, even though they had no obligation whatsoever. He couldn't have been more grateful for this, knowing just how lucky he truly was.


	3. Chapter 3

Fran's eyes opened to the sound of laughter. He blinked, trying to clear his foggy eyesight. He could make out the blurred shapes of five other people, and the cold room echoed with their amusement. He sniffed, unbearable pain in his head.

"Well, look who it is." Fran flinched at the voice, sensing nothing but malice in it. "Thought you could get away, did you? Well, shit like that doesn't fly around here, boy."

Fran flinched as cold fingers grabbed his cheeks, forcing his mouth open. His vision was slowly clearing, and now that he could recognise his surroundings, he tensed in realisation; he was somewhere he had _never _wanted to _ever _come back to.

"Oh, is little Fran remembering who we are now?" There were sneers all around the boy, laughter that sent shivers down his spine. "It _was _a shame we were caught all those years ago, but... the laws are only so strict; we're out again, and now there's nothing to stop us from finishing the job."

Fran shouted angrily as he felt hands grab his favourite t-shirt, one with a cartoon frog printed on the front Bel had bought him for their two-month anniversary. He tried to slap the hands away, but he was powerless; they still ripped the shirt in half as they pulled it from his body. His black pants were the next to go, but they held little meaning to Fran – not like his shirt did; his lower garments were something he had bought for himself with his _own _money; he cared nothing for their treatment except for that fact that, without them, he was naked and vulnerable.

"Oh, look, he's crying!" Fran flinched at their laughter, hastily reaching up to wipe away the tears he hadn't noticed were falling. "That's something he hadn't done for a long time! Our absence must have made him soft again!"

"Don't _touch _me!" Fran snarled, kicking out at his attackers. "Don't_ fucking _touch me!"

"What'cha gonna do 'bout it, Frannie?" A tall man with dark hair stepped forward, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You gonna cry 'bout it some more? Beg for us to stop? Just like you did when you were little. Or you think you can run off to that feral boyfriend of yours and _he'll _protect you? I got news for ya, Frannie; we've already got people working on _him_. Do you think he'd enjoy it if we treated him like the whore you _both _are? Scratch that; of _course _he would; he's a fucking slut."

"Leave him out of it," Fran growled. "He has _nothing _to do with this."

"Oh, he has _everything _to do with, because..." the man leant down, mock-caressing a damp cheek as he whispered into the younger's ear, "...he tried to teach my son that he's safe. Guess again, Frannie; you will _never _be safe in this world – no matter where you go or what you do, we'll find you again, and we'll use you for all you're good for. Sadly, you're only good for a blowjob or two; such a useless human that should never have been _born_."

Fran glared in defiance, shuddering as he felt someone grab him from behind. He had no idea what he had been laying on, but he could see that he was now being carried across the room and over to a cage, one that greatly resembled the cage he had been kept in all day every day when he was younger.

"Don't..." Fran hissed, trying to struggle and fight his way out of his assaulter's arms. He stuck his legs out, pressing against the cage as he fought to keep himself out of it. He whimpered as something hard smacked his head, and without conscious awareness, his body went limp. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, feeling himself being shoved into a cage that was _far _too small – even for his below –average size.

"Doesn't this bring back memories?" The man Fran had identified as his father smirked as he approached the cage, kicking the door shut before he slipped a padlock onto it. "Look, it's even the same size as the one you used to live in!"

Fran could barely move, feeling like a dog that had been forced into a cat carrier. He didn't speak, his tears falling harder down his face t the treatment.

"It _does _look a tad uncomfortable in there, so you might want this." The man smirked as he held out the tattered remains of the boy's shirt. "You can use it to clean up your piss because we sure as hell won't do it for you."

Fran snatched the material, hugging it close to him. He let out a sob as he ducked his head, wishing with all his being he hadn't left the house today. There was no _way _he would ever use his shirt for something so disgusting – his pants, maybe, but not his shirt; not the one Bel had been so excited to see Fran wear after he had given it to the younger boy.

The small male flinched as he felt the cage being picked up, but he didn't question it; he imagined they were taking him somewhere to hide him, just in case the police treated them as suspects in the kidnapping.

At that thought, another one crossed his mind. _Would _anyone realise he had been kidnapped? Or would Bel just assume he needed more timeout? Would they piece together the puzzle and come searching for him? Or would they not even bother?

What about Mamoru? Was his dog okay? The pup had only tried to protect him, and Fran understood when the animal ran off – he probably would have done the same if _he _had been shot at such a young age.

And Bel... They were going after Bel, weren't they...? He would never forgive himself if he got Bel involved in this mess, if the blond got hurt because of something he couldn't control...

Trying to pull his knees as close as possible to his chest, Fran cried. He didn't care that the others could hear him and were mocking him; this was just too much for him to handle right now.

What had Fran ever done for him to have to live the kind of life he had? Why had he suffered so much when he was little, and why was he suffering again _now_...?

The boy shook his head, wishing he were dead – if he were, he wouldn't be around to burden Bel or anyone else anymore, and they would all be happier. He was _certain _of it.

_**~~XX~~**_

Fran didn't know how long he had been asleep for, but what he _did _know was that when he was awoken, it was with a heavy blow to the top of his head. He cried out as he jerked uncontrollably, his movements suppressed by the small cage. Tears slid down his cheeks again as he hugged his shirt tight to his chest, his head feeling as if it were about to explode, accompanied by the unfamiliar dribbling of his own blood.

The boy trembled as he glared at his assaulters, his mouth set in a firm growl as his eyes took on a dark, hateful expression Bel had never seen in them before. "I hate you so much..."

The dark-haired man just laughed as he slipped a key into the padlock, opening the door. He pulled Fran out by his hair, dragging him out of the room and back into the one he had been in before.

Fran grimaced as he heard the familiar laughter, knowing what was about to happen; he struggled to get away as he was picked up and tossed carelessly onto a small table, snarling loudly at his mistreatment; it had been a long time since he had gotten so worked up – come to think of it, he had never _really _been worked up in the first place; he had always been so docile towards others.

"Fernand, he's such a cute little kid." There was agreement with this statement directed towards Fran's father. "Thank you for sharing him with us."

"I must disagree with your idea of him being _cute _as I find him to be repulsive in his very _existence_..." the man – Fernand, Fran was remembering – eyed his child with a distasteful manner, "...but it's only fitting that such an ugly, abhorrent thing should live a life just as horrid as its existence. Do what you want with him."

Fran would almost _swear _he was in a room with a pack of hyenas; they laughed at everything, prowling around like the scavengers they were. He flinched as a hand shot out of nowhere, pulling his head up from the table.

"It's been a while since we've had your mouth around us, hasn't it?" The blond man reached out, caressing a pale cheek. "I'm sure you've kept in practise with that cute boyfriend of yours. Show us what you've learnt."

Fran bit down instinctively, drawing a shout and, seconds later, another blow to his head. He moaned as the world around him spun, powerless to stop the hard length that was shoved into his mouth.

"Bite it again and I'll cut yours off with a rusty spoon, you little shit," the boy's attacker threatened, wasting no time as he started thrusting his hips back and forth.

Fran was tense, his eyes closed as tears slipped down his cheeks. He sobbed, hugging his shirt tight to him, a mantra of apologies running through his head; all he could think about was how he was betraying Bel by being unable to stop this.

"He looks so tight~ I would have thought he'd be so loose~"

Fran gagged as he realised there were hands on his rear, parting his cheeks in order for someone to look at his entrance. He whimpered as he felt something wet brush against that spot, knowing what was about to come.

"Think he'll take more than one cock at the same time?"

"Let's find out."

Fran cried harder, knowing he was about to be penetrated by more than just one man. _I'm sorry, Bel... I'm so sorry... Please, forgive me..._


	4. Chapter 4

When Bel came back to the orphanage the next day after having picked Mamoru up from the vet, his lack of sleep was clear; he was slow and uncoordinated, having been up all night stressing about Fran. It had gotten to the point where Squalo had stayed with him, trying to distract the younger by talking about anything that came to his mind. As hard as he had tried, Bel hadn't been able to sleep.

Squalo had been the one to drive the blond down to the veterinary clinic and back, his supportive nature knowing no end.

"Do you think Froggy's okay...?" Bel was walking slow as he followed Squalo upstairs, the dog limping by his side.

Squalo didn't know how to reply to this; the last thing he wanted was to give Bel false hope, and then to find out that...

Shaking his head, the long-haired man cleared his train of thought, instead saying, "There's no point in worrying about this, Belphegor; there's nothing we can do until Hibari finds him. If you keep thinking about this... you'll only make yourself worse. Try and think about something else if you can."

Bel knew the man was right, but it wasn't that easy; his lover was out there somewhere, having who-knows-what done to him – how could he _not _think about this?

"Mamoru..." Bel slid his fingers through the silky fur of the dog, trying to find as much comfort as he could. He flinched when the animal licked at his hand, but he didn't pull away; he was sure Mamoru was just as distressed as he was.

"Go have a rest, Bel; I need to make a call." Patting the younger's shoulder as they stopped in front of the office door, Squalo disappeared inside. The room was void of anyone else considering this was where Xanxus spent most of his time lazing around, so Squalo sat down on the couch, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Trying to check on the case's progress, Squalo was told that Hibari hadn't found anything except that someone had trashed Bel's home overnight, leaving threatening messages on the walls painted in what had seemed like blood, and whoever had done it even had the guts to have impaled the blond's frog with a pen, leaving it to slowly die in agony.

Squalo wasn't sure Bel would be ready to hear this news, so making a mental note to try and keep the younger here as long as he could, he could only hope he was doing the right thing by the blond.

_**~~XX~~**_

"How's Bel doing?" Tsuna was seated at the dining table, three teens surrounding him. He was looking up at Squalo, his dark eyes as soft as ever.

"Well... He's finally sleeping." Squalo sighed as he pulled a chair out, taking a seat next to the redheaded teen. "I checked on him just before I came down; he's cuddling with the dog. Probably the only comfort he can get from this..."

Tsuna frowned, knowing just how hard Bel must be hurting; the blond had been through so much in his life, unable to love and be loved in return, and just when he finally starts settling down...

Looking at the white-haired teenager who had tugged on his shirt, Tsuna smiled. "What is it, Byakuran?"

"We're all confused about this," the teenager explained. He had violet eyes and a purple marking below his eye, and though he could have a cruel streak in him when he wanted, he was a rather playful teen. "How come he's here?"

"Because he was one of ours a long time ago, and something has happened," Tsuna explained. "It's not safe for him to stay at his own home, so he's with us until this is sorted out."

While the blond boy next to the one named Byakuran just nodded, sucking away on a spanner-shaped lollipop, the redhead in question started whining as he hugged his stomach, a look of pain crossing his face.

"Shoichi?" The blond reached out, patting his friend's head in a comforting manner. "What's wrong?"

"A-are they... gonna come here...?" The redhead sounded scared, as if he was expecting a group of armed men to burst into the house any second now – in all actuality, that probably _was _what he was worried about.

"Shoichi, no one's going to come here," Tsuna soothed. He looked to the blond, smiling down at the gentle one. "Thank you, Spanner; you're a good friend to him."

"Is Lussuria almost done with lunch?" Squalo's dark eyes observed their newest kids as he spoke to Tsuna, feeling rather hungry with everything that had happened.

"Almost. Where's Xanxus?"

"Fuck knows." The long-haired male sighed. "He wasn't up in the office when I was in there earlier."

"He'll be around somewhere." Tsuna looked up as he heard Lussuria call that lunch would be ready in just five minutes. "Should we bring Bel down for lunch?"

"Fuck no; he needs his sleep. He can eat later."

"Yeah, I guess." Tsuna turned his attention to the kids as they all waited patiently for their meal. The two adults couldn't help but stress about Bel and Fran, hoping that everything would be fine soon.

_**~~XX~~**_

Fran cracked open a weary eye as he heard someone approach his cage. He growled weakly, unable to move; he was so cramped, his muscles had become stiff, making it just impossible to so much as twitch his body willingly.

The boy let out a moan of pain as he felt hands grabbing his body, instinctively dropping his favourite t-shirt to the bottom of his filthy cage, scared he may lose it if he brought it with them. He couldn't fight away the hands that took him into the room he _hated_, knowing what was coming; he could just stare blankly around him, too tired to put up a struggle any longer.

There was the familiar laughter as he was tossed onto the cold metal table, his naked body covered in bruises and cuts, exposed for the hungry eyes to see. Fran couldn't move even if he wanted to; he just lay there, wishing he was dead.

The boy ignored the words that were spoken to him, his mind too hazy to take notice of what was being said; he was tired, and he wanted to go back to sleep and pretend this had never happened.

"Don't ignore me, Fran!"

The boy whimpered as he was hit in the face with a metal pipe, feeling an agonising pain spread through his nervous system at this. He could feel blood dribbling down his skin, and he could only start screaming as the blows came more and more, harder each time.

Fran felt the first blow to the top of his head, and though it had left him on the verge of unconsciousness, he was still aware of the second, third and even forth crack hat left him with a pool of blood around his head and his realization taken from him.

The boy was limp as he was dragged back to his cage and thrown in, nothing done to stop the rivers of blood that quickly stained the metal red.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Bel awoke later that day, he was surprised to find Squalo approaching him with two discs in his hands. He tilted his head as the older male gestured for him to follow, wondering why they were going into Xanxus' office.

"These came for you earlier." Squalo moved to the TV set in the corner of the room, thinking nothing about why there would have been mail for Bel sent to his address. "Here."

Bel sat at the desk as he waited for the disc to start playing, Squalo coming to stand by his side. The screen was black for a few seconds before it became clear that this was a home movie by the shaking of the camera.

"Belphegor~"

"N-no... No more..."

Squalo's mouth dropped open as he recognised the voice of a very young Belphegor, turning to look at his companion. He wasn't surprised that the younger had started shaking, his mouth open in a silent scream, tears slipping down his cheeks.

The long-haired man jumped to turn the TV off, making a mental note to call Hibari and have him take the DVDs in for investigation.

Turning back to the younger, Squalo wrapped his arms around Bel as he held the shaking man tight, kicking himself for having been so careless; he should have known better than to just give the blond something from the mailbox with everything that had happened.

"How did they get that...?" Bel whispered, crying into the man's chest. He shook his head, tears sliding harder down his cheeks. "...How... did they get that...?"

Shaking his head, Squalo had no idea how to answer.


	5. Chapter 5

What felt like forever had actually been only a few months for Bel. He had been struggling with his depression more so now than he had in several years, the heartbreak at having his beloved boyfriend taken from him too much to deal with. Squalo had tried his hardest to look after the younger, but it was increasingly difficult as the emotional pain Bel was in constantly overwhelmed him – the long-haired man was afraid Bel had started cutting himself again, but the blond denied it when asked.

Hibari had explained that though progress had been made in the case, Fran's whereabouts and general wellbeing was still unknown; though the officers working it had their suspicions, there still wasn't enough evidence for them to persuade the judge to give them a search warrant.

Squalo knew the skylark was trying his best to find Fran, but there was only so much that could be done with so little evidence.

With a sigh, Squalo found himself dropping his shears to the ground as he picked up his bottle of water, sitting next to the small hedge he had been trimming. He was in the backyard, Mamoru laying on the porch and watching him. Bel was sleeping again, but Squalo didn't blame him; as hard as this was for them, they could only imagine the pain Belphegor was in.

Tightening the cap on the water bottle, Squalo tossed it behind him lazily before he picked the shears back up, returning to his job. Mamoru stood up now, making his way over to the man. The dog whined softly, pawing at the long-haired male, almost as if he was as sad as he looked.

"It's okay." Reaching out, Squalo scratched the animal behind the ear. "We'll find him soon."

Mamoru groaned as he lay back down beside Squalo, resting his head on his front paws. His ears were folded downwards as he sighed, a definite depression about the dog, just like Bel.

"Hey..." Squalo poked the creature in uneasiness, earning nothing but a slight shift of the dog trying to see what had touched his shoulder. "Don't be like this; you'll make _me _feel bad... It's not like we can do anything more than we already are..."

Mamoru whined again at these words, his dark orbs staring intently at Squalo. The gardener sighed, trying to focus on anything but the dog next to him.

"Oi, shitty shark."

Both Squalo and Mamoru turned as they heard Xanxus calling out from the back door. "What?"

"Get your ass back in here; the skylark trash has to talk to us." With that said, Xanxus turned back around and slammed the door closed behind him.

"Fucking hell..." Agitated, Squalo threw the shears into the hedge. He snatched his bottle up from the ground before he got to his feet, calling Mamoru to follow him. He stepped into the house, closing the door once the dog's nails started clicking against the tiled floor.

Walking into the living room, Squalo found the other workers gathered around with Hibari and Dino standing before them. Squalo was silent as he took a seat next to Xanxus, confused as to what was going on – if Dino and Hibari were here, it could only mean something important relating to Fran's case had happened.

"Should we get Belphegor down for this shit?" The long-haired male questioned, only to receive stern no's from everyone present. "Why the fuck not? If it's got to do with Fran, he has the right to know."

"I do not wish for him to find out so soon," Hibari explained, his dark eyes narrowing. "Kusakabe and I found him, and we got him to the hospital as soon as we could. Cavallone has been staying with him."

"What the fuck's happened?" Squalo had to restrain himself from shouting, knowing it would only make things worse if he became too loud. "If he's in hospital, he's alive, isn't he?"

"He's alive, yes." Hibari shared a look with Dino before the blond frowned and stepped forward, taking everyone's attention onto himself.

"Fran is alive, but..." Dino sighed, a soft look crossing his face, "...he's come out of this with very bad brain damage... The nurses believe he was hit in the head quite a few times as his skull is badly damaged, and his brain is no better."

Everyone was silent at this, no one knowing how to question it. Hibari took over once more, knowing the others were still processing what had happened.

"I did background research on the ones who had abducted the green herbivore. There wasn't enough evidence to convict them all, but I did put away some of them. I couldn't get his father, and it concerns me greatly as further investigation into those tapes that had been sent for the prince herbivore... It seems that the green herbivore's father knew the prince trash's. My worry is things may not settle down for either herbivore, so once they're back home I will be organising someone to keep watch and make sure they're not bothered."

Tsuna's dark eyes blinked before he spoke. "How bad is the brain damage? Did the nurses say when he could come home?"

"The brain damage seems to be very intensive, Tsuna." There was a sad tone in Dino's voice as he explained this, having sat with the teenager for the past few days. "He's eating, but he can't feed himself. He's also not talking, and his awareness of his surroundings is either very, very slow, or he just doesn't recognise anything at all. His motor skills are near non-existent, not to mention we don't know if he knows who I am as he hasn't said a word. Touch scares him, and his control over his bladder is very weak. Kyouya and I spoke about this earlier; we're not sure if Bel will be able to handle this, or if he can care for Fran here on in."

"Only one way to find out." Getting up from the couch, Xanxus shouted for Bel to come downstairs. He was answered by a sleepy blond calling out that he'd be down in a minute, and Xanxus couldn't help but return the glare Hibari was sending him. "What?"

"Did you not listen to anything we just said? The prince herbivore does _not _need to know about this so soon."

"That's his _boyfriend _in hospital, you fucking scum," Xanxus argued. "If there's one person who _does _need to know, it's the prince trash. What, you think the blond trash is going to make any progress with him? No. It doesn't work that way – Belphegor knows about this _now, _or I'm taking him to the hospital myself."

"You have no idea what you're about to put him through, herbivore." Hibari's eyes darted between Xanxus and Dino for a few seconds before he continued on. "The green herbivore's a mess. That's why I'm telling you to tell him _later_."

"A mess?" Red eyes narrowed in anger as Xanxus hissed at the cop. "_That _trash is a fucking mess, too."

"Xanxus, what's up?" Bel stepped into the living room, rubbing beneath his long bangs. He was frowning, and it was clear he had only just woken up.

"They found your trash."

Bel froze at these words, almost unable to believe them; after so long of not knowing what to expect...

Looking around for his boyfriend, Bel almost started crying; if Fran was safe, he would be here now, but...

"Where is he...?" the blond whispered.

Squalo stood up, slinging his arm around the younger's shoulders. "I'll take you to him."

Bel chewed at his lip as he nodded, terrified of what these words could mean. He glanced around at the others before he followed Squalo, not speaking when Dino joined them, explaining he would show them where the boy's room is.

Fuck, Bel hoped Fran was okay.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Now, Bel..." Dino put his hands on the younger blond's shoulders, hoping the man would be able to handle what he was just about to walk in to, "...if you need to leave for whatever reason, you know you can. Squalo and I are here if you need us, so don't be afraid to talk to us if it's too much."

Bel nodded, taking a deep breath before he stepped into the room. He looked at the hospital bed in the middle of the room, his obscured eyes widening as he caught sight of his lover, covered in bandages with countless drips in his arm.

"F-froggy...?" The blond felt sick as he moved closer, dropping to his knees once he was close enough to touch his lover. "Froggy..."

"He's asleep at the moment," Dino explained as he and Squalo stepped in together. "In that bag on the bedside table, there's a shirt. It's pretty filthy, but Kyouya said Fran had been clinging to it for all this time; it must be important to him."

Taking the bag and opening it, Bel was greeted by the sight of Fran's favourite shirt, the one he had been wearing the day of the abduction.

Shaking his head, Bel made a mental note to take it to Lussuria to have him clean off the grime and stitch it back together.

"Hey, Froggy...?" Bel hated the bandages that were wrapped tightly around the boy's head, small tufts of teal poking out from beneath them. He reached out, taking the small hand in his own, squeezing it tightly.

"Bel, he..." Dino shifted uncomfortably, knowing he would break the other's heart by telling him what was wrong with Fran. "...He will be better off if he's left to sleep, Bel..."

"Why...?" A single tear dripped down Bel's face, just wishing he had been a better boyfriend and been able to protect him.

Looking at Squalo, Dino's hazel eyes filled with gentleness before he explained to the younger man what he had told everyone else. It hurt to see the way Bel cried, needing to be held by Squalo so the long-haired male could soothe him; everyone knew that Fran had been the one to save him from the darkness, and Belphegor would forever love the boy for the happiness he had brought with him.

But looking down at the boy on the bed... Dino wondered if Fran would ever be the same again.


	6. Chapter 6

For weeks now, Bel had sat by Fran's hospital bed, holding the younger's hand tightly as nurses went about their business. It was hard seeing the way the boy seemed so lifeless, only to cry at the most random of times. Worst of all, no matter how hard Bel tried, Fran didn't seem to understand him at all – if he even took notice of the other in the first place, that was.

"Belphegor."

Bel looked up at the doorway to Fran's room, finding Squalo and Tsuna stepping in. The long-haired man held two cups of coffee, moving to the blond to pass him one.

"Squalo…" Bel dropped his head onto the mattress, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. "Squalo, what time is it…?"

"It's afternoon." Tsuna smiled at the blond, his own coffee in hold. He and Squalo sat in the other unoccupied chairs, silence falling between them all.

Bel sipped at his drink as he turned to look at his boyfriend, finding emerald eyes fixed on him. It wasn't unusual for the youngest to stare at people, but it made Bel uncomfortable; it made him feel as if there was no hope for a recovery.

"What's up, Froggy?" When no answer came to him, Bel could only drop his head, his eyes closing tightly in distress. Trying his hardest to overcome how useless he felt, the older male instead reached out, carefully pulling the blanket up higher around him. "Better?"

"…"

"…Froggy…" Whispering the other's nickname, Bel fought hard against the tears that threatened to overwhelm him; seeing Fran in this condition was one of the hardest things he'd ever gone through.

"Have you taken time away from him yet, Belphegor?" Squalo's dark eyes fixed on the younger, already knowing the answer; Bel hadn't left the hospital room for _anything_. When he received a shake of the head in response, he sighed. "Bel, you _know _you can't spend all your time here with him… I know it's hard, but –"

"Excuse me? Sorry."

The three adults glanced over to the nurse who was just walking into the room, her arms holding what looked like a few small leaflets and brochures. Her long blond hair curled against her chest, a gentle aura about her.

"Do you know what you're going to do with him?" When the woman spoke, it had Bel blinking in confusion; what was he going to _do _with Fran? She made it sound as if he were a dog that had just died!

"What do you mean…?" Bel was naturally wary of the nurse, speaking in a reserved tone.

"Well, as you can probably work out, we aren't very well equipped to care for his level of damage," the nurse explained gently. She held the papers out, waiting for Bel to take them before she clarified. "There are a few options for him, such as an acute rehabilitation hospital, or a nursing home."

Bel frowned as he looked at the other males. He dropped his head once more, tensing as he tried to explain his situation to the woman. "…I do not have much money… I have to be helped financially as I can't work… And flipping through these, all of the facilities seem too far away…"

Squalo grabbed one of the leaflets, scanning the information quickly. He passed it over to Tsuna, knowing that sending Fran somewhere specialised to help him would be the best option for now; he would have to wait until he got home before he could check how much the facilities costed – if they were able to spare it, he knew none of the others would mind chipping in to help Fran's recovery.

"Well, he's already gone through the coma and vegetation stages, and he recovered from them at a fair pace." Curling a lock of hair around her finger, the nurse smiled soothingly. "He's currently still in the minimally conscious state, but he's doing well enough that you could take him home with you now if you wished to; you'd just have to spend a lot of time caring for him."

Bel bit his lip as he looked to Squalo and Tsuna, wanting their input on the matter; he needed someone to help make the decision with him, scared of making the wrong one and messing up.

It was Squalo who spoke. "Why don't you bring him home for a few days and see how you cope, Belphegor? If it's too hard for you, you know we can always look after him as well."

"But you guys don't…" Bel growled at himself, frustrated that he couldn't convey his thoughts well. "…He shouldn't be your concern…"

"He will _always _be our concern as we were the ones to have raised him," Tsuna said softly. "Just like how we will always help _you _out when you need it, we wouldn't abandon Fran."

"You little shit; we're _trained _to deal with difficult kids – we do it for a reason, Belphegor." Squalo snorted. "Couldn't be any worse than putting up with you, after all… If we could deal with you for as long as we had, we can deal with _Fran_."

"I'm sure it won't be easy to care for him, but at least you'll know he's safe back at home," the brunet finished. "You won't have to worry about payments or stressing about trying to see him or how he's going."

Bel knew he much liked the idea of having Fran back at home than somewhere that might not look after him properly – after everything the boy had been through, he needed to be loved and cared for.

"…Will you take him whenever I need you to…?" Bel glanced warily at the nurse before he turned his attention back to the older males.

"Of course, brat." Getting to his feet, Squalo moved over to the hospital bed. "Tsuna and I will take him down to my car while you handle everything up here."

Bel chewed at his lip before he nodded, working with the nurse to discharge his boyfriend. He was relieved when, just fifteen minutes later, he was sitting in the backseat of Squalo's car, nursing a sleeping Fran as the older male drove them back to the orphanage in order to get their things first.

_**~~XX~~**_

After laying Fran down on the orphanage's couch, Bel straightened his back as he turned to look around him. Squalo was talking to Xanxus and Lussuria while Tsuna went to fetch everything for them, leaving Bel to wonder how he was going to cope with this. He loved Fran more than anything, but was caring for him something the blond could do? His depression was once again overwhelming for him, an illness he had fought so hard against, and it would only make things harder for them both if he couldn't control his mind and emotions.

"Bel, honey?"

Bel shifted his gaze onto Lussuria as the man stepped into the living room, noticing the familiar shirt held in a tender grasp. "Froggy's shirt… Did you fix it, Luss?"

Lussuria smiled as he nodded. "I did. I've cleaned up all the muck from it, and I was lucky to find thread that matched the colouring perfectly. Just be careful with it, okay? If it rips again, bring it back."

Bel beamed at the cook as he took the shirt, holding it for a second longer before he hugged it. "Thank you so much, Luss; Froggy will be very happy now."

"Any time, sweetheart. Hello, Fran, dear; it's been a while, hasn't it?" Lussuria knelt by the couch, brushing back teal strands from Fran's eyes. The emerald orbs were closed as the youngest slept, oblivious to what was going on around him. "Squa has told me everything. I'm so sorry, dear."

"He's been sleeping a lot." Bel frowned as he explained things. "…It… will probably be easier for me if he's sleeping, but… I really miss him…"

"I'm sure you do, hon." Lussuria stood back up, moving to stand by the couch as he parted the curtains, having heard the school bus pull up out the front. "The boys are back, Bel. I'll ask them to be quiet."

Bel nodded as he sat on the edge of the couch, caressing a warm cheek in a gentle manner. He listened to Lussuria's footsteps fade, remembering back to when he was still in the adults' care; it hadn't been an easy time for him, but he _did _miss it somewhat; he missed the security and comfort he felt from being looked after so well.

_I hope I can look after you as well as everyone did for us… _Leaning down to kiss Fran's forehead, Bel smiled sadly at his lover. _I can only try, though…_

"Boys, this is Fran."

Looking up at Lussuria, Bel saw the three boys standing behind him, looking curiously at the damaged male. He offered a small smile to them, but at the same time, he didn't feel comfortable letting them so close to his frog.

"He might need to come and stay with us for a few days, so I expect you all to be on your best behaviour with him."

"What happened to him?" The blond sucking away at a lollipop was Spanner, Bel knew. The younger male tilted his head as he stepped past Lussuria, wanting a closer look; he had always been curious by nature.

"He has brain damage, Spanner, dear." Lussuria watched as the teenager reached out, ghosting his hand along the teal-haired male's head.

"His skull feels weird," Spanner pointed out. "It's all… bumpy, and like it's swollen. There are stitches in it, too. How did it happen to him?"

Bel smacked the teenager's hand away from his boyfriend, not wanting to risk anything happening.

"No need for you to know, honey." Lussuria ushered the three out of the room, wanting to give Bel and Fran some privacy. "Go and get started on your homework."

The other two teens shared a look as they waited for Spanner to come back to their sides before they took their schoolbags into the kitchen, working together on their homework. Tsuna and Squalo stepped into the room just a few seconds later, Mamoru by their sides. The dog perked up as Fran shifted, his tail wagging as he bounded over, licking his master's face.

"Mamoru!" Bel pushed the animal away, seeing that the dog was disturbing Fran's rest. "Mamoru, piss off!"

Tsuna grabbed the dog's collar and pulled him away, seeing that Bel was quickly getting agitated. He handed over the bag he had just finished packing, it containing all the clothing and other necessities Squalo had gotten from their house shortly after all this had happened.

"We'll take you back now." Squalo moved forward, scooping a now-awake Fran into his arms. "Just so you know… there will be a police officer there waiting for us… And your house was, uh… trashed, but… we've cleaned it up and replaced what was broken. Your frog… didn't make it, though…"

Bel squeezed obscure eyes shut tight as he shook his head, reaching up to wipe at his tears. He nodded, knowing things would probably never be the same again, but he had to try – if only for Fran's sake.

"Let's go, Bel." Tsuna was gentle as he led the younger male out of the house, following behind Squalo and Fran. "Do you want us to stay a while with you?"

Bel nodded, knowing he couldn't do this by himself.

_**~~XX~~**_

The first thing Bel noticed when Squalo parked outside of his house was that, though his car was still parked in the driveway, it looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to it; the windows were all smashed, deep dents all over the body, and the tires and car seats had been slashed. It upset him, but he had more pressing matters to deal with right now; he had to get Fran inside the house and calm him down – Fran had started to cry again just as they turned onto the street.

"It's okay, Froggy." Bel reached out, taking the shirt Tsuna was passing to him. It was the shirt that had survived the whole ordeal, and the blond couldn't help but be relieved that brunet knew what he was doing. Holding the front of the shirt into the boy's view, Bel tried to get him to acknowledge it. "Look, Froggy. It's your shirt. It's your favourite one. Luss fixed it all up for you. When we get inside, do you want to wear it?"

Bel didn't move when the back door was opened, Squalo and Tsuna waiting patiently out on the grass for the youngest to relax.

Emerald eyes blinked a few times before a small hand shakily raised into the air, trying to grab at the material he could see. It broke Bel's heart to watch skinny digits grasp at air, and he couldn't help but take the boy's hand in his own, guiding it to the shirt.

Fran continued to blink as the soft material in his fingers registered in his mind. He moved his gaze over to Bel, staring at the other with an expression blanker than it had ever been. He didn't acknowledge the second set of hands that had grabbed him; he just continued to watch Bel as he was pulled out of the car and carried towards the house.

Tsuna moved to the other side of the car, letting Mamoru off the leash. He watched as the dog bounded after Squalo, his tail wagging in excitement, and he couldn't help but wonder if the animal understood his owner's condition.

The blond was slow to get himself out of the car, waiting for Tsuna to grab his belongings for him before he closed the door and towards his home.

"Are you alright, Bel?" Tsuna held the door open for the younger, following Bel into the living room.

"Yes…" Bel glanced at the police officer who was standing by the couch, talking to Squalo. He didn't like the idea of someone he didn't know inside his house, but… what choice did he have…?

Walking past everyone to head to his own bedroom, Bel curled up beneath the blankets, letting himself drift into a very deep sleep, just wanting this to all be over and done with.


	7. Chapter 7

"You look exhausted, Belphegor." Heterochromatic eyes searched for obscured ones, a soft look in the different-coloured orbs. "Why don't you go have a rest?"

Bel sighed as he shook his head, sitting down on the chair opposite the couch. "I'm fine, Mukuro… I don't need to sleep. …It's all I've been doing lately, anyway…"

Mukuro had come out to see Fran as soon as he had had time, and the second he had stepped into the house, it was clear that the teal-haired boy wasn't the only one suffering; Bel had clearly been crying before he opened the door, his face red as he wiped tears away hastily. He was almost stumbling as he walked, his body shaking with the stress it was going through.

"Belphegor…" Shaking his head, Mukuro made his way over to the couch. Fran was spread across it, resting on his side, staring blankly ahead. He was dressed in warm pyjamas, light green fabric that matched his hair, and a black blanket was resting on the floorboards next to the couch. Reaching out to touch a teal head as gently as he could, Mukuro offered the boy his smile, his relationship with the younger very close. "Hello, little one. How's your head?"

As expected, Fran didn't even notice he was being touched, let alone spoken to; he just continued to stare at the wall opposite them, his breathing shallow.

"He won't speak to you…" Bel spoke in a bitter tone. He pulled his knees up to his chest as he sighed, turning to look at the TV instead. It had been turned down to a low hum, nothing of interest showing at the current hour, but anything was better than watching Fran stare blankly at nothing for hours on end. "He just… lays there most of the time…"

"Well, of course he's not going to be up and walking around so soon," the younger male said, sitting down on the couch; he had lifted Fran's head carefully so that it rested on his lap, stroking the boy's hair in a soothing manner. "He can't get that message around his body properly. You have to be patient with him, Belphegor; he needs love and support."

"I know that… I'm trying, Mukuro; I really am… I'm just…" Bel sighed, shaking his head. "…It's been weeks since I've brought him home, and it feels like he hasn't made any progress at all…"

"I'm sure he will. He is very strong, Belphegor." Mukuro looked around the living room. The curtains were drawn, letting the light soak into the room, and the sliding glass door to the side porch was halfway open, letting the chilly breeze into the house. "Shouldn't you be keeping that door closed? Tsunayoshi told me you could still be in danger."

"The dog's out the back; it's open so it can come in and out." Resting his chin in his hand, the blond continued on. "The cop's out the front so he'd see if anyone snuck over the fence, anyway."

"Still…" Mukuro didn't like the idea of Bel being so careless, especially now that Fran relied solely on him to care for him – if someone broke in, and Bel wasn't around… "…"

It was quiet between them as Bel swayed slightly while he watched the TV, and Mukuro whispered down to Fran, playing with dirty teal locks. Their attention was soon grabbed by the soft clicking of Mamoru's nails on the floorboards, a squeaky ball in his mouth. When the animal approached Mukuro in the hopes of having someone to play with him, the blue-haired man's eyes widened in horror.

"Belphegor!"

The blond jumped at the younger's outburst, frowning over at Mukuro. "What?"

"Why haven't you been feeding it?" Mukuro reached out, grabbing the dog collar in order to get a better look at the skinny animal; while it wasn't to the point of emaciation, the dog would _definitely _be hungry; the last time he had seen Mamoru, there was _much _more fat to it.

"…I'm tired, Mukuro…" It had been a long time since Bel had sounded so defeated. Mukuro understood; his friend was depressed, but still… If he couldn't feed the dog, who knew how quick he would slip with Fran's care. "I'm just… so tired…"

While Bel himself seemed to have lost weight, Mukuro couldn't find it in himself to care for the other's wellbeing right now; Bel could feed himself when he wanted to, but that dog was as reliant on him as Fran was.

"Mamoru." Carefully moving Fran so that he could get off the couch, Mukuro moved into the dining room, heading towards the cupboard used to store all the dog's belongings. Mamoru followed behind obediently, the squeaky toy still in his mouth. "I'm sure Belphegor doesn't mean to be so neglectful… He's just going through a hard time."

Mamoru's tail wagged eagerly as he watched Mukuro pour dry food into his bowl, waiting for it to be put down in its usual spot by the couch in the living room. He bounded happily to the couch, digging in the second his meal had been put down and Mukuro had backed away.

"It's really hungry, Belphegor." Mukuro felt sad as he watched Mamoru devour the dry food within seconds, returning Fran's head to his lap. "I'm sure you're tired, but you're still responsible for it. How would Fran feel if he knew you were letting his dog go hungry?"

"Leave me alone…" Bel tucked his feet in beneath his striped pyjama pants, wanting to curl up and sleep, but he knew he had to feed Fran soon; he _hated _the fact that his boyfriend had to be fed through a tube, but what else could he do? Try and force something down his throat and choke him? "I don't need this shit… I'm trying my best, Mukuro…"

Mukuro again fell silent, turning to watch the TV as well. He was thinking about Fran, hoping with all his being the younger would be alright. He looked down when he felt the dog pawing at him, smiling softly as he was met by the sight of Mamoru with his ball in his mouth, begging to be played with.

Taking the squeaky ball, Mukuro tossed it to the far side of the room, watching the dog run after it in order to bring it back.

"Have you been playing with it?" the blue-haired man asked, taking the toy as it was dropped onto his lap.

"No…"

"You can't throw a ball for five minutes?" Mukuro was upset when the other shook his head. "…Why don't you give him to Takeshi for the time being, then? I'm sure he wouldn't mind another dog and at least Mamoru won't be lonely with Jiro to play with."

"It's _Froggy's _dog," the blond growled, almost possessively. "It's not leaving because I'm sure Froggy wouldn't want it to."

"Alright." Mukuro raised his hands in defence. "I'm sorry, Belphegor. I was just putting it out there because you don't want to look after it."

"…"

Mukuro wished there was something he could do to help, but what? Belphegor seemed bent on running himself exhausted for Fran, but… at the same time, the blond was _too _tired.

"Belphegor, I – Belphegor!" Mukuro stood up once again as the older male shifted, his pyjama sleeves sliding down his arm and revealing a wrist marred with fresh cuts. He stormed across the room and grabbed the frail limb, finding that these injuries were no accident; they were deep, and had been made with careful precision. "Belphegor, why would you do this to yourself _now _of all times?! What if you slipped?! What if something happened and no one found out until it's too late?! Did you even _think _about what would become of Fran?!"

Pulling his wrist back to his person, Bel scowled. He got off the chair and left the room, heading down the corridor to his bedroom. The door slammed shut behind him, and Mukuro could only imagine what the blond was going through.

Fran seemed undisturbed by the commotion, having not moved an inch since Mukuro's arrival. The man went to sit back down beside him, only to stop as he noticed the rapidly-spreading wet stain that had originated on the front of the boy's pants.

Mukuro sighed as he reached out, carefully sliding the wet material from the younger's body. "He can't even put a nappy on you to save you some embarrassment… What is he _doing_…?"

Keeping it in mind to tell Squalo everything that had happened today, Mukuro went about caring for Fran, knowing _someone _had to.

_**~~XX~~**_

Bel's sleep had been disturbed by the sound of his phone ringing. He blinked as he pulled it from his pocket, finding the caller ID read 'Squalo'. Yawning, the blond answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello…?" Bel flinched as he was greeted with shouting.

"Voi! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Squalo sounded _very _angry, and the sound of breaking glass in the background proved this. "You're not feeding yourself or the fucking dog, you're going against the nurse's advice on keeping him in nappies, and now you're fucking cutting yourself again! If this is too fucking much for you, why the fuck didn't you _say _anything to us?!"

"Squalo…" Bel sighed. "…Squalo, I… I'm just… I'm not very hungry anymore, and… I'm just too tired for the dog… And I'm _not _putting Froggy in _nappies, _Squalo… Anything but that…"

"I get that this isn't an easy thing for you to be doing, but why the fuck haven't you come to us for help?! That Takeshi trash is on his way out now to get the dog so _someone's _looking after it, and if we need to, we'll take Fran ourselves!"

"No…" Bel groaned loudly. "You're not… taking the dog… I'm sure Froggy would want it here… And you're not taking Froggy, either…"

"The dog needs to be looked after just as much as Fran does, you dumbass! The dog's going until you can _actually _care for it! I'll be out later to check up on you two, and if you haven't put him back in a nappy, I am _not _going to be happy, Belphegor!"

"Why should it matter to _you _whether he's in a nappy or not? _You're _not the one cleaning up his messes!"

"I'm thinking of the poor brat's feelings, fool! Would _you _want to piss and shit everywhere?! You're keeping him in a nappy, and that's _that_!"

Bel couldn't help but let a sob escape his throat. He closed his eyes as he bowed his head, just too tired for this. "…Squalo… I'm so… exhausted…"

Squalo was silent for a few seconds before he said in a _much _softer tone, "Then get some sleep, shithead. I'm coming out now to come and get him. You need a few days to yourself. No arguing over this, either."

Nodding, Bel hummed in agreement, knowing he couldn't go on like this for much longer – he needed a rest, and he needed one _now_. "Thank you, Squalo…" he whispered, letting tears slide down his cheeks.

"It's okay, brat… See you soon…" With that said, Squalo was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Ever since Bel had left the orphanage, there really hadn't been all that much trouble for the workers to deal with – and now, with just three well-behaved kids to look after years later, the adults had almost forgotten what it was like to be woken in the middle of the night at some ungodly hour to break up conflict between the kids. Tonight, however, it wasn't a fight between the kids; someone must have broken in while everyone was sleeping, because while Shoichi was screaming at the top of his lungs, both Spanner and Byakuran were banging on the bedroom door, trying to get in and see what was wrong.

Both Xanxus and Squalo were quick to jump out of bed and run down the hallway, pushing the two teens away from Shoichi's door. The long-haired male tried to push it open, only to realise something was blocking it shut from the inside.

"Shoichi!" Squalo went to ram the door, only to be shoved to the ground as Xanxus took his place. The dark-haired man took a split second to raise his leg and kick the door down, seemingly surprising whoever was in the room with the teenager; Shoichi scrambled across the room, stumbling as he ran to Squalo. The gardener was quick to pull the redhead into one arm, using the other to force Byakuran and Spanner away from the room.

"Squalo!" Tsuna and Lussuria had just arrived, the two looking greatly concerned as something broke from inside Shoichi's room. "Squalo, what's going on?"

"Sho, dear!" Lussuria leant down, taking Shoichi's arm tenderly in his. His hidden eyes raked the laceration on the teenager's arms, knowing it needed medical attention right away.

"Take them downstairs, Luss," Squalo ordered gruffly before he turned to Tsuna. "You go make sure Fran's okay."

Everyone went their separate ways as Squalo stepped into the room, finding that whoever Xanxus had knocked to the ground was currently in the middle of getting the almighty shit kicked out of them.

"Xanxus, who the fuck is it?!" Squalo couldn't get a good look at them due to how dark the room was, but when Xanxus stopped attacking them in order to turn to the silver-haired man, they took that opportunity to get to their feet and jump through the window. "Whoa!"

The two men ran towards the open window, looking down for the assaulter who would surely have broken their legs jumping from the second story window. To their surprise, no one was in sight.

"What the fuck was _that_?" Squalo's dark orbs fixed on red ones, no idea what had just happened.

Xanxus shrugged. "Get the phone and call that skylark trash. I'm going outside."

"Like _fuck _you are!" The younger male argued. "What if that's what they _want?!"_

"Are you _worrying _about me?" A smirk crossed Xanxus' face as he started walking back to the room he shared with Squalo**(1)**. "_Don't_. I don't need your worry, shitty shark."

"Well, fucking sorry that I care about you, you asshole!" Squalo had followed the taller man, watching as Xanxus moved to the lockboxes he kept his guns in. "Well, if someone ends up having to mop you up from the cement, it won't be _me!_"

Xanxus just shrugged, moving to get bullets next. "There would be no need for it anyway."

Squalo grumbled to himself as he left, moving instead to Bel and Fran's old bedroom. He knocked on the door before he pushed it open, finding Tsuna sitting on the edge of the mattress with Fran's hand in his.

"Is he okay?" Squalo closed the door behind him as he walked towards the bed. He could feel emerald eyes focusing on him, but he didn't mind; it was a bit of life they wouldn't see from him otherwise.

"Yeah, he's alright." Tsuna squeezed the frail hand as he explained. "I think the commotion woke him; he was awake when I came in. I've already called Hibari, so don't trouble yourself, Squalo."

Squalo nodded, reaching out to pat teal hair gently. "Luss has the kids downstairs, and Xanxus is outside."

Tsuna bit his lip at this information, worried for his boss' safety; why would the other go outside when who knew _who _was out there? "But he…!"

"Voi, if he won't let _me _worry over him, than _you_ can't, scum!" Squalo growled.

Tsuna couldn't help but smile, knowing just how close Xanxus and Squalo were; as much as they would deny it at times, they _did _love each other deeply.

It soon fell silent between the two, Fran continuing to stare at Squalo while Tsuna pulled his phone from his pocket, wondering if there was something more he should do.

"Shit."

Tsuna blinked at Squalo's voice, looking at the man. He turned his attention to Fran when he noticed the other was raising his arm into the air, trying to grab at the device.

"He wants the phone…" Squalo knew that, while it was rare, Fran _did _sometimes try to use things as one normally would; back at the hospital, he had been given a hair brush and awkwardly ran it through his hair. It was a rare occurrence, but happened nonetheless, and gave them all hope that he would eventually recover. "Give it to him. See what he does with it."

Tsuna was gentle as he placed the phone in Fran's hand, helping the younger close his fingers around it securely. Emerald eyes stared at it for a few minutes before he shakily placed it at his ear, as if he expected someone to be on the other line.

"Good work, Fran." Squalo patted the boy's shoulder before he got off the bed, stretching. "Before you put him back to sleep, check and see if his nappy needs changing. I'm going to check on the kids."

Tsuna nodded, getting up so that he could tenderly lower the blankets and undo the nappy. Squalo left the room, walking through the dark house slowly before he made it down to the living room, finding Lussuria kneeling by the couch in front of Shoichi, the redhead's arm in the process of being bandaged.

"What happened, Sho?" Squalo reached out, patting soft locks gently.

Shoichi had tears running down his face as he held his stomach tightly, the teenager's anxiety spiking badly. Spanner sat on the couch next to him, his arm wrapped around the smaller male's shoulders as Byakuran patted him in an awkward manner.

"Sho, honey?" Lussuria finished the bandage before he stood up, brushing dirt off his pyjama pants. "Sho, what happened?"

Shoichi shook his head, a loud sob escaping his lips. He was terrified, and they all knew it.

The long-haired man sighed before he asked, "How did they get in to your room, Shoichi? Window or door?"

"D-door…" the redhead whispered, his tears coming harder.

"Shit… Luss, I'm going to check the house in case there's more of them."

"Be careful, honey."

With that said, Squalo was gone.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Did you get a look at the offender?" Hibari was leaning against his police cruiser, a pen and notepad in his hand as he spoke with Squalo and Xanxus. The lights were still flashing, illuminating the darkness.

"No; the room was too fucking dark." Squalo glanced back towards the orphanage, knowing that Tsuna and Lussuria were talking to the officer inside taking fingerprints. The kids had been moved into Fran's room, beds made up on the floor for them, where Squalo would sit with them in case someone came back. "They must have gotten in downstairs somewhere, because Sho said they came in through the door."

Hibari nodded as he wrote the information down. He went to speak before he stopped, pulling his phone from his pocket. It was ringing, and Kusakabe's name flashed on the screen. The skylark answered the call, putting the phone to his ear.

Squalo and Xanxus looked at each other as they listened to the call, their eyes widening as they picked out names _far _too familiar to them for comfort.

"What's going on…?" Squalo whispered to the older male, his eyes flickering between Hibari and Xanxus. The dark-haired man just shrugged, waiting impatiently for their friend to end the call.

Squalo was the first to speak once Hibari had tucked his phone back in his pocket. "What's happened?"

Hibari clicked his pen thoughtfully before he replied. "Kusakabe and one of the lower-ranking officers handled calls sent in around the same time the Sawada herbivore made his. The pineapple herbivore had a break-in as well and was later taken to hospital for minor injuries. The baseball herbivore was woken to his dog barking, and was just in time to find someone halfway through the door. His dog scared the offender off, no injuries there."

"They both were at Bel's earlier today…" Squalo knew this was no coincidence. "They were followed?"

"Possibly. The officer stationed outside the blond herbivore's home caught someone loitering outside, but they fled before they could be questioned. I'll station others outside all of your homes and see who we can catch."

Squalo nodded. "Thank you, Kyouya. We need to get the kids back to sleep."

"Call me if anything else happens." With that said, Hibari had gotten back into his cruiser and left the scene.

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Squalo kicked at the dirt as he and Xanxus headed back inside. "All this trouble over the brat… Haven't they done enough to him?"

"Obviously not. Now get those fucking pieces of trash to sleep so _you _can rest."

Squalo grumbled under his breath as he parted from Xanxus, heading to Fran's bedroom. He was quick to get Byakuran and Spanner back to sleep, and after – eventually – letting Shoichi sleep with him, the redhead had drifted into oblivion as well. Fran was fast asleep himself, and Squalo couldn't help but let his heavy eyelids drop before he, too, fell asleep.

**1 – I went through the original story again to check if I had already established a relationship between them, but I believe it was just left as vague implications because I didn't see anything official. I should really take notes down on all my completed works for moments like this. **


	9. Chapter 9

When Squalo's eyes snapped open the next morning, it was to Fran's heartbreaking cries from the bed opposite him. With a sigh, the man rubbed at his eyes before he pushed himself into a sitting position, checking for the other two teenagers so he didn't get out of bed and step on them. He climbed over Shoichi carefully, the redhead having been clinging to him from nightmares all night, not wanting to wake him now that he was resting peacefully.

"Don't cry, Fran." Treading past the teens still fast asleep, Squalo moved to scoop Fran up in his arms. The younger's head dropped limply against his chest as emerald orbs stared blankly ahead, the tears never ceasing. "What's wrong?"

As expected, no reply came from the boy; he simply cried more, unaware of the fact that he was being rocked gently.

"You need a bath…" Squalo ran his fingers through teal locks gently before he stood up, carrying the light body towards the door. "When's the last time Belphegor gave you one? For fuck's sake…"

"Squalo…?"

Dark eyes blinked as the man turned around, finding Byakuran sitting up from where he had been sleeping. The white-haired male's violet orbs were hazy with sleep, his voice full of concern.

"Is Sho-chan going to be okay…?"

Squalo nodded. "Of course he will be. He won't be able to use his arm again for a while, but he's going to be fine. Be nice to him; he's really scared, Byakuran."

"I will…"

"Good. Go back to sleep; it's too fucking early for this shit."

The younger hummed as he lay back down, deciding that he, too, would favour more sleep; it had been a long night, after all.

Fran continued to cry as he was carried into the bathroom. He hardly noticed when he was sat on the closed toilet seat, his pyjama top being unbuttoned and pulled from his body. He slowly became conscious of his pants being pulled from his body, his mouth opening and closing with small noises as he felt his nappy coming off last.

Squalo scrunched his nose up as he tossed it into the trashcan beside the toilet, hating humans more than ever; how could someone hurt such a sweet boy? This kid had already been through hell, and now…

Fran had, by now, stopped crying. He was staring blankly at the bathtub, seeing but not really _aware_ that Squalo was turning the taps, filling the bath with warm water. He made another soft sound as he was soon picked up again, carried over to the large basin before he was carefully lowered into it.

"I hope that feeding tube's okay to be submerged…" Squalo chewed at his lip as he looked at the tube, knowing they couldn't be underwater for several weeks once they were put in. "Should be fine by now, though…"

The boy dropped backwards once Squalo had pulled his hands away, almost hitting his head on the porcelain before the man caught him. He blinked, the bright lights taking his attention, the voice shouting for Tsuna far away sounding like a whisper. He was startled slightly at the sudden sound that filled his ears, a strange sensation running down his spine, not understanding that Squalo had tipped a jug of water over his head. He licked his lips without thought as he felt himself soon being moved forward, something soft being placed behind his head. Tsuna had come to join them, looking very tired as he stifled a yawn with his hand.

"Can you hold him to make sure he doesn't slip?" Squalo was reaching out to the shampoo bottle on the edge of the tub. "The cushion should be fine as it is, right?"

"It won't hurt it if it falls into the water." Tsuna was gentle as he took Fran's shoulders, holding the boy in a sitting position with one arm as he used his other hand to support the limp head. "Be very careful washing his hair; you might hurt him."

"I fucking know!" Squalo sighed as he dropped the shampoo bottle to the ground, more tender than he had ever been as he went about lathering it into wet locks. He washed it out before he added conditioner, then finding a cloth and soaping it up. "He's filthy, Tsuna; I don't think Belphegor's been bathing him."

"I think he's just very upset and finding it hard to deal with; he probably doesn't want to see Fran like this." Tsuna laid Fran back down, resting the boy's head on the cushion he had brought in. "It's understandable."

"Yes, but whether or not that shithead can cope is irrelevant; Fran _needs _to be looked after or he's going to get sick!" Squalo pointed accusingly at the feeding tube as his dark eyes stared at Tsuna. "What if that got infected and he didn't even notice?!"

"Don't blame him, Squalo; he's doing the best he can in his situation; he's feeding Fran properly and spending his nights awake to make sure Fran is alright; he needs help – he can't do it all on his own – but he _does _care, Squalo."

Squalo mumbled to himself as he continued washing the boy's body, slightly embarrassed about this; he had bathed babies in his care before, but _never _a _teenager_ – it felt awkward to be seeing Fran like this, as if the younger's body was so private, he shouldn't even be _near _him in this situation.

But even so, Squalo knew he had no choice in the matter; Fran had to rely on them more than ever, and it wasn't in his nature to abandon those he cared about.

"Think he's clean enough now?" Squalo dropped the washcloth into the bath, having finished cleaning the younger's privates. He didn't feel well, feeling as if he had just ruined the boy's innocence somehow.

Tsuna nodded, knowing his friend was uncomfortable; if anyone should be bathing Fran, it should be Bel – the blond knew his boyfriend's body better than anyone else, of course. "I'll go get clean pyjamas for him."

"Nah, get him some day clothes." Squalo held one hand on the younger's shoulder as he reached to his left to grab a towel from the rack. "I need to go into town later so I'll bring him with me; get him out of the fucking house a while. Poor brat's probably sick to death of being cooped up in the one spot for hours."

"You're going to take him into town?" While Tsuna didn't sound disapproving, he _did _seem concerned. "Are you going to be able to manage with him? I mean; you didn't get the wheelchair from Belphegor's, did you? Surely you can't carry him everywhere?"

"I'd rather carry him than leave him here – he's going to go crazy if he's not stimulated." Carefully tugging the fragile body out of the tub, Squalo wrapped Fran up in the red towel. "He's fucking light anyway; won't be a bother. Bring his clothes into my room; he doesn't need to have the brats watching him get dressed. Don't forget the nappy."

Tsuna was quick to leave, getting everything ready. Squalo was careful, mumbling quietly to the boy in his arms as he carried Fran from the bathroom. As he had before, Fran just lay limp against the man's chest.

Squalo didn't have any trouble getting Fran ready for the day; it was mostly Xanxus bitching that his sleep had been disturbed by the younger's soft utterings. Alas, he didn't let that bother him and instead went about caring for both Fran and the other kids – as hard around the edges as he was, he truly _did _love the brats they had taken in, even if he would never admit it out loud.

_**~~XX~~**_

"So we still need to get some more steak, and wine for Xanxus." Squalo sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, having been reading his shopping list aloud for Tsuna; the brunet had come into town with Squalo and Fran, worried that the older male may have trouble carrying Fran everywhere. "Have we got everything else?"

"I still need to grab some bread for the kids' lunches." Tsuna turned the shopping trolley around, calling over his shoulder that he would meet them at the registers.

Squalo sighed, adjusting his hold on Fran. The boy's head was resting against his shoulder, small fingers curled tightly into the man's black jacket. He was still awake, but he was as unresponsive as ever – the long-haired male was almost glad for this; the looks they received from everyone sickened him.

It wasn't until Squalo had grabbed a packaged steak and met up with Tsuna at the registers did the two adults _really _become agitated; while Tsuna was _much _more easy-going than his co-workers, the gardener didn't like people at the best of times and always resented when he had to interact with people he didn't know.

"He should be in a mental hospital." A balding man, shorter than Squalo and wearing a black shirt with a crucifix pendent hanging off a chain around his neck, stared at Fran with disgust in his eyes. "At least lock him away in his room where none of us have to see the retard."

Tsuna stared in shock, unable to comprehend what the hell was going on. It was Squalo who reacted – much more violently than he should have.

Pulling the smaller male close to him, Squalo then recoiled his arm, letting it spring forward with as much strength as he could muster. The stranger fell to the ground, blood gushing from his nose as he looked up at Squalo.

"Voi!" Squalo roared angrily, stomping forward to pin the other to the ground with his foot. "He has fucking brain damage, you uneducated fuck! Even if he didn't, there's no way I'd keep him locked up! He has just as much right to be here as _you _do, you filthy prick!"

"Squalo!" Tsuna tried to tug his friend away, only to have the other shake him off. "Squalo, stop! You're causing a scene!"

"Get off me!" Squalo snarled. "This fucker is _dead_!"

"Faggots!"

"W-what?! I'm not… Squalo!"

Whether or not Fran had any idea what was going on, none of them knew; the boy had just started crying once more, only adding to Squalo's bad mood as it was right next to his ear. Pulling himself away from the stranger, the long-haired male pulled his wallet from his pocket and tossed it to Tsuna.

"Pay for this shit and get wine on your way out; I'm going to the car." With that said, Squalo was gone.

Tsuna slipped his friend's wallet into his pocket before he reached out, extending a hand to help the man to his feet. "Are you alright?"

The stranger just slapped Tsuna's hand away, spitting at his feet. "Don't touch me, fag! You'll burn in hell for that choice! You, him, _and _that ugly little retard!"

Tsuna's gentle eyes hardened at these words before he turned around, letting the other handle himself. He just started putting the purchases up on the conveyer belt in silence, aware of everyone watching him. He was quick to pay the cashier and get the bags out to the car, finding Squalo sitting in the passenger seat with Fran in his lap, the boy hiccupping as he went to sleep.

"That was just cruel…" Tsuna tied the bags before he put them on the front floor, speaking to Squalo. "He should have just minded his own business. Do you regret bringing him with you?"

"Why the fuck would I regret getting him out of the house?" Squalo snorted. "Fran has every right to live his life, and just because some bigoted bastard didn't like it _doesn't _mean I'm not bringing him back ever again; if you think I'd _ever _do what he suggested and keep Fran locked up like he's some demented animal of sorts, you're fucking wrong."

Tsuna nodded, dropping the last bag by Squalo's feet before he backed up, letting the other get out of the car in order to put Fran in the back.

If there was one thing Tsuna had to compliment Squalo on, it was his dedication to those he cared about – he'd never known someone more loyal than Squalo, and though most people didn't see it, the man _truly _cared and did his best to look after the ones he took in.

_**~~XX~~**_

Bel was startled back into consciousness by his phone ringing. He blinked before he reached out, taking his phone with a hand that had been shaking from nightmares, finding Squalo's name on the screen.

"Squalo…?" Bel yawned after he answered the call, waiting for the other to start speaking.

"Hey, brat." Footsteps sounded in the background before one of the kids asked Squalo something. The man replied to them before he turned his attention back to Bel. "I'm going to bring Fran back out to you at lunch tomorrow. Have you gotten enough sleep?"

"Yeah… I think so…" Bel should surely have rested enough – he had hardly left his bed since Squalo had taken Fran back to the orphanage. "…Is he doing okay…?"

"Eh, he's… here and there. I think just like everyone else, he has his off days. We've fed him, bathed him, and kept him in nappies – and so help me god, the next time I come out there and find you haven't been looking after his hygiene…"

"Sorry, Squalo… I'm tired…"

"…I know you are… Just… don't let him get back into that state again, alright? If you can't bathe him yourself, you know I can always come out and do it for you."

"Thanks, Squa… I'm going back to sleep now… See you tomorrow…"

Squalo snorted. "It's three in the fucking afternoon, you shit. Get your ass out of bed and do something."

"Nah… Sleeping is better, Squa… Goodnight…"

"…Night, brat…" As much as it hurt Squalo, he couldn't force the younger – not with everything that had been happening. Bel deserved his rest, and he _was _depressed; it wasn't so easy for him to get out of bed in the first place.

Bel was quick to turn his phone off, tossing it to the other side of the bed, falling back asleep within seconds. His dreams were full of nightmares, some about his past, and others about Fran.


	10. Chapter 10

**For this particular chapter, I tried very hard to research just what would happen regarding the brain damage. I couldn't find much in terms of what happens after the confusion stage, so forgive me if this progress is inaccurate and please correct me if you know how it should have progressed instead. **

When it soon became clear to everyone that Bel just couldn't look after Fran, everyone at the Varia Orphanage and their friends had chipped in to get the boy the help he needed. It had been a few months since Squalo and Tsuna had taken him to the nearest rehabilitation hospital a few towns over, and though Bel went out to visit him as much as he could, sometimes it became too much for him to handle and went home in silence. There hadn't been much news in terms of whoever was behind the break-ins and attacks, but Hibari was taking no chances and continued to have people stationed outside of every house that belonged to someone with ties to Varia.

Today, Bel was on his way out to the hospital to bring Fran home; he had emerged from the Minimally Conscious State and into confusion a few weeks back, but he had gotten through it, and was slowly starting to overcome the brain damage. He still hadn't said a word to anyone, but he would often make soft noises, and the last the blond had heard, he was being taught how to walk again.

Having parked his car in the parking lot and soon walked into the building, Bel made his way through the winding corridors to Fran's room. He pushed the door open and looked in, finding the boy sitting upright as one of the carers gave him his medication.

"I can take him straight home, right…?" Bel was quiet as he moved to the bed, reaching out to take Fran's hand in his.

The black-haired woman smiled at Bel as she nodded, pulling the cup of water from Fran's mouth. "There are some prescriptions on the bedside table there for his medication. There are instructions written down as well, but if you have any questions, feel free to talk to your pharmacist or give us a call. Do you have a wheelchair for him or would you like to borrow one to take him to the car?"

"I can carry him." Bel moved to take the papers first, tucking them into his pocket. He then grabbed the bag containing clothes and toiletries for Fran, slipping the strap over his shoulder. He then came back to Fran's side, scooping the younger up into his arms. Fran immediately dropped his head to the other's chest, his expression blank as he stared at his carer.

"He's quite dizzy, so try not to move him too abruptly." The woman smiled down at Fran as she reached out, patting her patient on the shoulder. "He's doing very well."

Bel hugged his boyfriend close to him, feeling teal hair tickle against his cheek as the younger moved to rest his head beneath the blond's chin. Tiny fingers curled into his black jacket, and Bel couldn't help but feel relieved that Fran was more active now – it was no longer depressing to look at the lifeless body who would stare at you for hours on end without moving a muscle.

"Do you need anyone to go over his current condition with you?" Bel was quickly growing agitated with this woman; couldn't he just leave already?

"No. I'm well aware of his 'current condition'." The blond couldn't stop the bitterness from seeping into his voice now. "I just want to go home…"

The woman nodded, not saying another word as she watched the two leave. Bel was silent as he carried Fran out of the facility, eventually getting him to the car just a few minutes later. Fran was quiet as he was carefully sat in the front passenger seat, falling to the side once Bel's hands left his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Froggy?" Bel was more careful this time, making sure the seatbelt was secured tightly around the boy before he stood up straight; Fran had bad balance issues, and he often struggled to stay upright by himself. "We're going home now, Froggy; I promise."

Fran slowly lifted his head, looking at Bel. He blinked a few times, his eyes half-lidded, before he looked down at the seatbelt around him, raising shaky hands to play with it.

Bel tried not to close the door too hard, knowing that his lover hated loud noises at the best of times. He soon found himself in the driver's seat, leaning over to check that Fran's belt was secure. The boy's lips moved, as if he were mouthing silent words, and didn't seem to notice the blond's presence.

"Let's go home, Froggy." Bel started the car, noticing that Fran seemed a tad more alert at this. Shifting the gear into reverse, he slowly moved the car out of its park. "It's okay; it's just the car."

The younger blinked at Bel a few more times before he started to pick at the stitching on his pants, as quiet as ever. Bel hated that, no matter what he tried to say to the boy, Fran just didn't take much notice of him at all.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Bel finally got Fran into their home almost two hours later, the boy was sat on the couch as the blond moved to put away everything in the bag.

Fran observed the room with tired eyes, vague recollections of being here before crossing his mind. He sighed, trying to reach out to the coffee table to grab the interesting-looking device, but he tumbled forward, hitting his head on the furnishing before he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Froggy?!" Loud footsteps came running to the living room at Fran's cries, Bel soon kneeling by the tiny boy's side. "Froggy, what happened?"

Fran rubbed at his head as he sobbed, burying his chest against Bel's. He just shook his head, his tears staining the black fabric of Bel's jacket.

Bel frowned as he rubbed the younger's back, holding him close. "It's okay, Froggy… It's okay…"

Fran soon stifled his cries, his fingers gripping tightly to his boyfriend's striped shirt. He allowed himself to be picked up and moved back to the couch, falling onto his side to rest against the other's lap.

The blond caressed teal hair as he hooked his foot around the edge of the coffee table leg, pulling it closer. He shifted his position slightly so that he was hunched over, opening the lid of the laptop as he turned it on. Fran was silent as he hiccupped, his emerald eyes watching the screen with interest.

"Wanna watch me play some games?" Bel smiled down at Fran as he logged into the device, waiting for it to load up before he did anything on it. Fran didn't reply; he just lifted his head to look up at Bel for a few seconds before he let it drop back down to the other's lap. "I got back into contact with someone I knew when I first got taken to Varia; she had stayed back in Italy, but was managing all the finances from there. Squalo and Xanxus asked her to make a Skype and add me because they knew she would be good support for me. Remember my old frog, Mammon? I named him after her nickname because of how close we were~"

Fran made no acknowledgement he had heard any of this, instead reaching out to press his fingertips against the laptop screen, fascinated by the bright colours.

"We added each other on Skype, so now we just leave the camera on and talk~" Bel grinned down at Fran, patting the boy's head gently as he accepted the incoming video call. He greeted his friend happily, a woman with long indigo locks seated on her own couch, sorting through stacks of paper. The two greeted each other, leaving Fran to wonder where that second voice was coming from.

The boy lifted his head as he looked around, trying to find whoever else was in the house with them. Bel just laughed before he said, "That's Mammy's voice, Froggy! You can hear her over the laptop."

Fran blinked, reaching out to poke the picture of the woman in the top right corner. He didn't understand what was happening, but he didn't question it; he instead just rested peacefully once more, Bel's soft voice soothing for him.

Bel was sure he had only talked to his friend for maybe ten minutes before Fran was out to it, fast asleep on his lap. He smiled appreciatively down at the boy, feeling much better now that it didn't feel as if he was caring for a lifeless doll.

"Is he asleep, Bel?" The woman on the other end of the internet connection looked as passive as ever, but there was a soft expression in her violet orbs only Bel knew existed.

The man nodded, caressing a teal head affectionately. "I'm just going to go put him in bed. I'll be back, Mammy~"

Mammon was as patient as ever with Bel as the younger adult stood up, scooping Fran into his arms before leaving the room. She went back to her finances, just glad to see that Bel was _much _happier; he had been so lifeless the past few months, hardly spending any time at all on the computer in favour of sleeping for long periods of time.

Hopefully, the more progress Fran made, the better Bel would become also.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Come again?" Squalo had his arms folded against his chest, leaning against the doorway to the Varia Orphanage. Hibari was standing before him, onyx eyes watching the older male in annoyance. "Let me get this straight… Someone attacks Hayato down the street, he gives a good description of the offender, and now you want to force Belphegor to watch every single _fucking _video in existence of his _torture_? What the _fuck _is wrong with you?!"

"The description of the offender does not match anyone I am currently aware of relating to the green herbivore's case. I want the prince herbivore to point everyone about and tell me all about them so this case is easier for us to close."

"Do you have _any fucking idea _what bringing those videos _near _Belphegor is going to do to him? You're going to set his recovery back!"

"Would you rather him have to attend a few more therapy sessions, or lose perhaps several people you care about?" Hibari sneered, already knowing the answer.

"…" Squalo closed his eyes, reaching up to rub at his cheeks. "…Only if I'm there, too, Kyouya; it'll be too hard for him if he's alone."

"Tomorrow at noon. Be there, shark herbivore." With that said, Hibari was gone.

Squalo stepped back into his home as he slammed the door shut, hoping with all his being Bel wouldn't hate them _too _much for what they were about to put him through.


	11. Chapter 11

Bel was quite surprised when he answered the door the next morning to find not only Squalo on his doorstep, but Hibari and Mukuro as well. Squalo held a grim expression on his face as he invited himself into the younger's home, the other two adults following him.

"Squa…?" Bel frowned as he closed the door behind everyone, not sure what to think; it wasn't every day these three just came to your house like this. "Squa, what's going on…?"

"Where's Fran?" Squalo's voice was soft as he addressed the younger, as if he knew something the blond didn't.

"He's still asleep. Why?" Bel bit his lip as he moved to stand in front of Mukuro, blocking the younger male from heading towards the hallway once the blue-haired man broke away from the oldest two. "I said he's _sleeping, _pineapple! You're not seeing him!"

"Bel, it's alright; calm down." Squalo sighed, patting a messy head of blond hair. "I've just asked Mukuro to look after Fran for a few hours; that's all. No one's going to hurt Fran, so relax, will ya?"

"I just got him back…" Bel was scared of losing his boyfriend once more, the long-haired man knew. He felt bad for the blond, but what more could be done? "I don't… I want to spend more time with him before anyone takes him away again…"

"Belphegor, we're going to be keeping you busy for the morning anyway; it'll be better that Mukuro has Fran."

"I don't understand…" Bel was feeling defeated, confused and scared; why was no one telling him what was going on?

Dark eyes looked to Mukuro before Squalo nodded, not wanting the other to know what they needed with Bel; it was personal, and no one had to know except for them. Mukuro nodded back, gently moving Bel out of the way so that he could continue on to their bedroom.

"Wait! He's _sleeping_!" The man was close to throwing a fit, frustrated that no one was letting Fran rest when he needed it. "Can't it wait?!"

"No, herbivore, it _can't_." Hibari, who had been silent up until this moment, growled. He, too, was greatly annoyed, wanting to get this over and done with; he didn't want to have to wait any longer than he had to, knowing how hard this would be for Bel. "The herbivore is leaving for the morning, _now _to be exact, and you will let it happen or I'll bite you to death."

Bel narrowed obscured eyes before he fell silent, moving to the couch. He sat down on it with his arms crossed against his chest, as stubborn as ever. "Can I at least make sure Froggy is okay before we do this?"

The cop went to object before he was interrupted by Squalo. "Whatever, brat. Just get your ass back here when you're satisfied."

Bel got straight back up from the couch, moving to his bedroom. He stood in the doorway as he watched Mukuro support the now-awake boy, careful as he pulled the soft pyjama shirt from a fragile body.

"Alright, lay back down, Fran." Mukuro had undressed Fran already, standing up to move to the wardrobe to find clothing for his friend. He hummed softly as he sorted through the piles, grabbing a plain red shirt and blue jeans.

"He can't eat solid food yet…" Bel looked away as heterochromatic eyes fixed on him. "It's got to be mashed, or very soft. He'll also walk a bit, but you'll have to help him and keep him steady. He can't go very fast, or cover much distance, though. He won't talk, either."

"Thank you, Belphegor." Mukuro knew it was hard for the blond to let others take his boyfriend out, so he didn't mind when the other told him things he already knew; Bel was just trying to soothe his own stress and make sure Fran would be looked after. "I'll be sure to take care of him. You may ring me if you have any concerns."

Bel nodded, watching in silence as Mukuro dressed the youngest with gentle hands. Fran must not have noticed his presence until the lanky man picked him up because, until emerald eyes were looking directly at the blond, he had not started whimpering and reaching out for his boyfriend as if he were desperate to be in Bel's arms.

"Oya?" Mukuro smiled as he brought Fran towards Bel, letting the older male take him instead. "Little one, you should know I would have let you say goodbye first."

Fran went quiet, resting his head against Bel's chest as he hooked his fingers into the other's blue pyjama top. He was peaceful, soothed by his lover's soft words and gentle rocking.

"Can you pack him a bag, please?" Bel rested his chin on teal hair as he sighed, addressing Mukuro. "Just some spare clothing; he gets… embarrassed…"

Mukuro understood; Bel _still _wasn't keeping the youngest in nappies, and Fran couldn't communicate to them when he needed to use the toilet – he would definitely have to stop and get some nappies to put on Fran when he could find some.

Bel whispered to Fran as he watched Mukuro grab a bag from the closet. He waited until Mukuro had put clothes in it before he passed the boy back into strong arms, gently trying to detach the fingers that didn't want to let go of his clothing.

"It's okay, Froggy." Bel held the teenager's hands in his own as he kissed soft lips gently, silencing the soft noises of distress Fran made. "It's okay; Mukuro will look after you today."

Fran continued to reach out for his boyfriend, his body twisting as he was carried away. It didn't take him long to become distracted by the fact that he had been carried outside and towards a car he didn't remember ever seeing before; it was silver, and it was _much _bigger than Bel's black car.

Mukuro supported the boy in one arm as he unlocked the car. He didn't need to use the footstep on the side of the car to put Fran in to the front passenger's seat; he was tall enough to do it without issue at all. After strapping Fran in and resting the bag on the floor beneath his feet, the older male then shut the door and moved to the driver's side. He reassured his friend that it would be okay before he started the car, letting the younger entertain himself with the phone charger he had found next to him.

The man smiled at Fran as he pulled the car away from the curb, taking it easy as he headed in to town. He let his mind wander back to Bel, wondering why on Earth Squalo had been adamant in him coming to get Fran today when even Bel himself didn't know what was going on.

_I hope everything's alright with everyone… _Looking back to his passenger, Mukuro couldn't help but feel that the boy was safe with him, no matter what was going on.

_**~~XX~~**_

"I don't understand…" Bel was curled back up on his couch, the two older adults seated across from him. "What's going on?"

Hibari pulled a plastic bag out of his jacket, tossing it onto the coffee table. "I need you to watch those."

Bel frowned as he leant forward, taking the bag onto his lap. He had to take only one look at one of the discs to realise that what he was looking at was something he _never _wanted to see again.

Throwing the bag to the ground with a startled gasp, Bel shook his head. "No…"

"Bel, c'mon." Squalo ran gloved fingers through his long hair, sighing. "We know you don't want to, but Kyoua needs you to point everyone out and tell him who they are and what you know about them."

A single tear slid down Bel's cheek as he shook his head, pushing himself back into the couch. "N-no… Squa… No… Please…"

Hibari ignored the other's pleas and got to his feet. He grabbed a disc from the bag, looking at its number label before he added it to his notepad. He moved to the TV set in front of him and slipped it into the DVD player, turning the TV on next. Writing down the timestamp of the first person in view, the skylark then turned to Bel, waiting expectantly for information.

Bel just let out an ear-piercing scream as he threw himself from the couch, running from the room. Squalo chased after him, a loud bang and then smashing glass sounding seconds before something heavy hit the ground. The long-haired man cursed for a few seconds before Bel started screaming again, being dragged back into the living room.

The skylark almost felt sorry for Bel, watching as Squalo held the other down on the couch, grunting as he was kicked and punched and bitten repeatedly in the blond's desperation to get away. He muted the TV, trying to make it the slightest bit more tolerable for the damaged blond, pointing to the brown-haired male on the screen; Hibari had paused it, needing to know who everyone was.

"Who is that, herbivore?"

Bel shook his head, another scream of horror ripping his throat apart. "Stop! Stop! I don't…! I don't know…!"

"You don't know, or you won't tell us?" The raven was not fooled; he knew Bel just didn't want to go through this.

Squalo tightened his hold on Bel, adjusting it so that he had the blond wrapped securely in his arms, unable to move an inch. "It's okay, Bel… Just tell us who everyone is and it will be over soon."

"I don't know!" Bel cried as he shook his head, looking anywhere but at the TV. "Please…! Let go of me…!"

"Who is it, herbivore?"

When Bel knew he wasn't going to get out of his, he let his body go slack as he cried harder, his voice stuttering. "…R-romeo F-fernidanz…"

"What do you know about him?" The cop scribbled the name down next to the timestamp in the notepad, waiting for Bel to tell him more.

"…He… He was in a child p-pornography ring…" Bel sniffed, not lifting his head an inch. "He… He usually t-t-told me how to behave, and… what to do… Gave my f-father instructions… on how to take me and… m-make me… b-behave…"

Squalo felt sick at hearing this. He nuzzled his face in against Bel's cheek, trying to bring him some comfort.

"Are you aware of his current status?"

Bel shook his head, starting to cry again as the DVD was played once again, watching in horror as his younger self was violated. It didn't help when Squalo tried to speed it up to the next person; it all brought back the same pain and memories.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Easy, little one." Mukuro was careful as he helped Fran out of his seat, holding the younger's hips until tiny feet were resting on the footstep. Lifting Fran off the car by the underarms, the man held him by his side as he shut the door and locked the car. "Alright. Hold my hand."

Fran just blinked up at the other, not moving an inch. He looked down when a hand wrapped around one of his, tilting his head to the side.

"Come on, now." Mukuro was patient, trying to coax the other into taking a few steps. He understood when Fran was uncoordinated, and he never minded helping his friend when it was needed.

With just a bit of love and patience, Fran had soon made a bit of distance towards the coffee shop. Mukuro scooped him back up into his arms once he noticed the younger was getting frustrated, unable to imagine how it must feel to be unable to walk properly.

It didn't take long before Fran was seated at a booth, waiting patiently for Mukuro to return with the milkshake and tea he had ordered for them, and then he was resting peacefully against the man's side as he sucked at the straw in his milkshake, drinking slowly.

Mukuro texted as he sipped at his tea, a magazine awaiting the blue-haired male's touch. Fran looked up as he felt warm fingers on his cheek, blinking at heterochromatic eyes.

"Takeshi said we can pick Mamoru up when we're ready." Mukuro smiled at the slight recognition that shone in emerald orbs, knowing the boy would remember the dog he loved so dearly. "We'll get a few more things done in town and then we'll get him, alright?"

Fran didn't look away; he just continued watching Mukuro as he drank his milkshake, his small fingers playing the blue ponytail that hung languidly down the older male's back. Mukuro didn't mind; it only bothered him a tad when the boy would tug at his hair, but never enough for him to become annoyed – he was far too gentle a person to be upset with his little one, after all.


	12. Chapter 12

To say that Mukuro was concerned when Squalo texted him, telling him to keep Fran for the day was an understatement; he was worried that something had happened to Bel, but when he rang the silver-haired man back and asked what had happened, no one would tell him anything.

Mukuro didn't mind looking after Fran for the day; everyone knew the boy needed a guardian more emotionally stable than Bel, after all.

Parking his car in the driveway to Takeshi's home, Mukuro turned it off and got out of the car before he moved to get Fran out of it as well.

"Do you remember who lives here?" As he had previously, Mukuro helped Fran down onto the footstep before putting the boy on the ground. The younger didn't acknowledge he had heard the man, but Mukuro didn't let that deter him. "This is Takeshi and Hayato's home. You've been here lots of times."

Emerald eyes looked at the brown brick house, the beautiful garden that ran the perimeter of the building and the white picket fence around the lawn. It looked like a very well-cared for home and, when Mukuro had taken him inside just a few minutes later, his suspicions were proved correct as not a thing was out of place.

The man with dark hair and who was as tall as Mukuro, but perhaps just a few inches smaller, was named Takeshi, Mukuro had said. The smaller, silver-haired man by his side was Hayato, and apparently they were boyfriends, just like he and Bel. Hayato had a few cuts on his hands and face, some stitches here and there, but otherwise looked to be in good condition.

"Hello, Fran." Takeshi smiled gently as he reached out, patting teal hair affectionately. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

Hayato was quiet, sticking close to his lover's side. Mukuro spoke to him, but the smaller man didn't seem to have much to say.

"Put him down on the couch and I'll get Mamoru." The dark-haired man was patient as he watched Mukuro lead Fran to the couch, whispering down to his lover as he patted the other's hip in a soothing manner. "It's alright, Hayato. Are you feeling okay?"

Green eyes fixed on dark ones as Hayato nodded. The silver-haired man wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, sighing. Takeshi was patient; he knew that his friend simply had suffered shock after the attack, and his already-distrusting personality made it hard to deal with visitors – even if they were ones he had grown up with.

Once Mukuro had sat Fran down on the couch and promised him they would be back, the long-haired man followed his friends out of the living room and instead into the kitchen, the back door located in the corner.

"Hayato, will you please make Mukuro a tea?" Takeshi's smile was one of the gentlest Mukuro had ever seen; it was no secret he truly loved his boyfriend. "And a hot chocolate for the rest of us, too. Is that alright?"

Hayato nodded, parting from his lover as he moved to put the kettle on. Mukuro stepped out into the backyard after his friend, finding Takeshi's dog curled up on the porch, fast asleep, while Mamoru played with his toys.

"He's a bit of a handful." Takeshi clapped his hands to get the pup over to him, bracing himself once the animal started running happily at him. He caught the young dog as it jumped up, smiling as he patted it. "He's really friendly though."

"I heard it gave Fran a run for his money when they first brought it home; it chewed everything up and was like the energizer bunny. Belphegor wasn't happy with it at all, and they almost had to give it back."

"Yeah, but puppies are like that." The younger male pointed to his own dog, the akita now sitting by his side as it waited patiently for a pat. "Jiro took a lot of training as well, but he's such a good dog now."

Mukuro smiled as he patted the smaller dog, knowing just how well-behaved Jiro was; the taller male had never known a dog as well-trained as this one.

"If Bel needs me to get him again, I'm always happy to." Takeshi directed the animals into his home, Jiro walking by his side while Mamoru tore off inside, knocking things over on his way through. "I love animals."

The older male knew that was true; Takeshi was one of the most loving people you'd ever meet. "Does Hayato still have his kitten? I hear it's quite aggressive."

Takeshi laughed. "Uri is sweet to anyone _but _Hayato, but Hayato loves him all the same."

Sitting down at the table across from the food preparation area, Mukuro waited patiently for his two friends to finish with the drinks; Takeshi had, of course, gone over to give his lover a helping hand. Jiro laid down by the table, waiting for his master to come back, while Mamoru pawed at Mukuro's lap, whining for attention. Mukuro gave the German shepherd a scratch behind the ear before the creature bounded off again, knocking more belongings over in his path.

Once the drinks were ready, the three moved back into the living room, the two dogs following behind. They were surprised by the sight they were greeted with, having not expected to find Fran sitting on the couch, his pants unzipped as he slowly stroked his half-hard shaft.

Hayato tensed as he looked away uneasily while Takeshi kissed his cheek, gently guiding his boyfriend back into the kitchen. Mukuro cleared his throat as he stepped forward, putting his cup of tea down on the coffee table before he reached out, putting a gentle hand on the boy's cheek.

"Little one, that's not appropriate manners." The blue-haired man knew not to scold Fran lest the boy think there was something wrong with him; he instead had to be understanding and explain things to the younger in a way that he would understand. Emerald eyes didn't look at the taller male, but Fran's hand stilled in its movements. "That's something that should only be done when Belphegor is around, or when you're in your room. Please put it away for now, alright?"

Fran blinked, but if he had heard anything the man had said, he hadn't listened; he had simply started to touch himself again, his eyes taking on a lustful look.

Mukuro felt bad for reaching out and gently prying the boy's hand away, and he was uncomfortable with tucking Fran back into his pants, but he couldn't just leave the boy like this; it was inappropriate, and making his hosts uncomfortable.

Fran whined as he shifted his hips, trying to move his hands back down to his lap, but Mukuro wouldn't let him.

"No, little one; it's called 'manners'. If you must, you may borrow my bedroom when we go back to my home, alright? Can you wait for that long?"

Fran just continued to whine as he struggled to break free of Mukuro's tender grasp. The man sighed before he gave in, letting the boy pull himself back out. He grabbed his cup of tea and carried it back into the kitchen, resting it on the counter as he washed his hands before joining his friends at the table.

"Sincerest apologies." Mukuro bowed his head. "I tried to explain to him it was inappropriate, but he doesn't seem to want to listen."

Takeshi laughed as he wrapped his arm around Hayato's shoulders, letting the smaller man rest against him. "No worries, Mukuro; we've all been there!"

Mukuro chuckled as he recalled back to their orphanage days, the times when Squalo would have them all down in the living room, pointing to the couch as he demanded to know who had dirtied it _this _time. No one ever fessed up, leaving poor Squalo to clean off the substance of an unknown teenager, but Mukuro was pretty sure they _all _were guilty of leaving their marks at one time or another – he knew he certainly was.

_**~~XX~~**_

After what felt like years, Hibari was finally taking the disc out of the DVD player and slipping it back into the plastic bag. He had managed to get information about everyone visible on the DVDs from Bel, and now the blond was curled up on the couch, looking more exhausted than ever. Squalo sat by his side, stroking blond hair.

"It's over now, Belphegor." Squalo tried to sit the other up, but Bel was so limp, he just fell back to the couch in a boneless manner. Sighing, the long-haired man pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'm making an appointment with your therapist for you."

Bel still didn't show any other sign of life apart from the tears he cried silently. Squalo hated when the blond suffered, and it killed him to see the younger like this, but what else could they do? Leave it be and let someone get hurt again? Or worse; _killed? _

Nodding to the cop standing by the coffee table, Squalo said, "You go. I'm going to stay here with him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

Hibari nodded back, leaving without a word. Squalo spoke quietly to the blond's therapist, his fingers never stilling their movements in oily locks. He had soon gotten the man into an emergency slot, scheduled first thing tomorrow morning.

After hanging the phone up, Squalo said, "I'm going to be here bright and early to take you to your therapist, so you'd wanna be ready before I get here; no stuff-assing around."

With that clear, Squalo made himself more comfortable on the couch, knowing he was in for a _long _day.

_**~~XX~~**_

One of the things Mukuro had made sure to get while they were in town earlier was Sippy cups; Fran didn't seem to have the attention span required to keep his cup upright and not spill it all over himself. He had also searched for nappies, but he didn't know where to go to get ones big enough for the boy; he should have grabbed some from Bel's home before they left.

After Mukuro had gotten Fran back to his home, he had taken the younger to the couch and turned the TV on for him. He had then moved to the kitchen, filling the Sippy cup with milk, knowing it would probably be good to help get his bones strong once again. Mamoru was in the living room as well, having jumped up on the couch next to his owner. The blue-haired man didn't quite like the idea of the dog being on his couch, not wanting to find dog hair everywhere, but he could see how calm Fran was with the animal around so he let it be.

Coming back out to the living room, Mukuro grabbed Fran's hand and wrapped it around the cup, waiting for him to see what he had. The boy blinked down at the object a few times before he raised it to his lips, licking at the mouth piece curiously.

"Put it in your mouth, little one." Mukuro was gentle as he helped Fran with the cup. Tiny hands reached up over his, small fingers around the man's own as Fran drank his milk peacefully. Emerald eyes focused on heterochromatic ones for a while before the boy pulled his head away, turning his attention to the dog now. He tugged at the animal's ears, his fingers ghosting through soft fur as he mouthed silent words once again, soft noises escaping his lips.

Mukuro patted teal hair before he left, going about what he needed to get done for the day; he still had a bit of housework he needed to do, and then he had to get started on some of his assignments for his university courses. Fran would be alright by himself for a little while, but Mukuro would most definitely come out and check on him every half-hour.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Mukuro came out to bring Fran some snacks a few hours later, he wasn't surprised to find the boy curled up on the couch, fast asleep. The dog was lying next to him, half-asleep himself.

"Little one…" Mukuro put the plate down on the coffee table before he shook Fran awake, knowing the boy had to eat to get his strength back. "It's snack time. Come on."

Fran let out an uncomfortable moan as his lower body twisted. He scrunched his face up before his emerald eyes opened, tears welling up in them already. Mukuro wasn't sure what to think until the dog jumped off the couch, revealing a wet patch on his fur that had come from the front of the boy's jeans.

"It's okay, little one." Mukuro went to grab spare pants, knowing it wasn't anyone's fault this time; the man had simply been unable to find anything to prevent this from happening. "Let's go sit on the other couch, alright? I'll clean this one up in a moment."

"B-bel…" Fran called for his boyfriend with a pained tone, his eyes darting around the room as if he were searching for his boyfriend. "Bel…!"

"It's okay." Mukuro caressed a pale cheek as he changed the younger's pants. "We'll go back to Bel soon. I promise."

Fran just continued to whimper, calling out for the one he loved most.


	13. Chapter 13

Bel was exhausted when Mukuro brought Fran back the next afternoon; he had spent the day in his therapist's office, crying his eyes out as he tried to explain every little detail about what he was feeling. He had articulated how depressed and anxious he was feeling, but it was harder for him to open up about his suicidal thoughts with Squalo sitting in the room with them. He knew the long-haired man really had only wanted to be of comfort to the blond, but sometimes Bel felt as if his presence was more harmful than good.

When the therapist had been forced to send him home due to other clients' appointments, Squalo had seen Bel's life drain on the drive back home. The silver-haired man was afraid to leave the blond, worried that if no one was there to stop him, Bel may do something stupid. It was no surprise the younger male simply slept until Mukuro walked into the house, the teal-haired boy fidgeting as he made soft sounds, the long blue ponytail in his hands as he played with soft strands.

"Bel…" Squalo leant down, shaking the younger man awake. He didn't let up until the blond was sitting, rubbing at obscured eyes. "Fran is here."

Bel frowned as he looked up, reaching out immediately at the sight of his beloved boyfriend. He sat where he was, letting Mukuro pass the youngest over and onto his lap. He buried his face in soft teal hair as he sighed, wrapping strong arms around the frail waist. "I missed you, Froggy…"

Fran murmured something unintelligible as he reached up, tangling his tiny fingers into tousled locks. He poked his tongue out past his lips, holding it there as his emerald eyes wandered around the room, taking in his surroundings; it was painful for Bel to see the way the boy could be so excited to see him one second, and then the next he had lost all interest – he understood, though; Fran's_ very _short attention span was simply a product of the brain damage, and the doctors believed it would get better with time.

"He was calling for you yesterday." Mukuro smiled as he sat down on the couch beside Bel, crossing his legs comfortably. "He was waking up through the night looking for you as well."

"He was sleeping with you…?" Bel chewed at his lip as he felt a surge of jealousy shoot through him; he didn't like the idea of _his _Froggy liking someone more than _him_. He growled as the blue-haired man nodded, leaning over to grab the front of Mukuro's shirt and pull him closer. "My Froggy is _not _to be in bed with you _again! _He's _mine!_"

Mukuro raised his hands in defence, keeping calm as the older male's anger filled the atmosphere. "I did not mean to upset you, Belphegor; I promise nothing happened – I simply wanted to be close by in case he needed me."

Bel opened his mouth to argue back, only to have Squalo break them apart. "How old are you, Belphegor? I shouldn't have to be pulling you away from people like this anymore. Mukuro was doing what he believed was right – he was only trying to look after Fran."

"Well, I don't _want _him to look after Froggy! Not if he's getting into bed with him!"

"You're so fucking immature, Bel…" Squalo raised a gloved hand to his face as he sighed. "Would you rather them share the same bed where _nothing _but _sleep _happened, or for Fran to have fallen off the bed and hurt himself? Or for someone to break in and do worse to him with Mukuro having no idea? We appreciate the fact that he's _your _boyfriend, and you should know none of us would _ever _try to take him from you."

"…" Bel's jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything; he instead scooped Fran into his arms as he stood up, carrying the boy out of the living room and to their bedroom. "We're going to bed. Leave us be."

"Belphegor, you can't just put him to sleep all the time!" Squalo stood up, intending on chasing after Bel to take Fran from him. "He needs to be stimulated, and he's not going to get that if he's kept in bed all the time! Why not take him into town or something? Let him watch you play some videogames?"

Bel shook his head, a possessive growl ripping itself from the blond's throat. "We're going to _sleep, _Squalo!"

"You're really fucking useless when it comes to Fran lately, do you realise that?" Squalo turned around, heading back to Mukuro. "It's no fucking wonder he's taking so long to heal – not when you can't do shit for him."

Bel's mouth dropped open at these words, obscured eyes flaring with hatred. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he huffed, storming down the hallway to his bedroom where he then proceeded to kick the door shut behind him, a loud thud sounding in response.

Squalo snarled to himself as he turned back around, needing to vent his frustrations out on Mukuro. He knew the younger wouldn't mind, and it would save him going back to the orphanage to take it out on the kids who had no idea what was going on.

"It just pisses me right off how he complains about Fran's condition, yet does shit all for him!" Squalo snatched up the coffee he had earlier sat on the side table. He waved it in the air as he continued on, his frustrations getting the better of him. "All he does is sleep and drops the brat on everyone else! I'm sick of it!"

"I know; it is annoying that everyone else has to look after him, but I understand that Belphegor is just depressed. He just doesn't know how to look after Fran properly and it's harder for him to cope in his state."

"I know that! I'm just getting sick of trying my best to help him, but he's not even _trying_!"

"He's tired, Squalo." Mukuro threaded his fingers through his long hair, heterochromatic eyes closing. "Of course he doesn't want to try – he probably doesn't even want to _be _here."

Squalo knew the younger was right, but it hurt to think about losing Belphegor; out of all the kids they had _ever _had, the blond was their most difficult, frustrating brat, and never had they had to spend as much time with one of them as they had Bel – they had put so much effort into helping him get better, it was agonising to see him unravelling back to the way he had been previously.

"It doesn't matter whether he wants to live or not; Fran needs him." Squalo took a gulp of his coffee before he put the cup back down, grabbing his phone from his pocket. "He doesn't really have a… What's that barking?"

"I left Mamoru in the car." Mukuro stood up to look out of the window, making sure it wasn't the dog. "He's a pain and tends to get in the way."

"You shouldn't leave animals in cars, Mukuro."

"The windows are down, the doors are locked, and it's really not even warm out there." Parting the curtains, Mukuro's eyes soon narrowed as they focused on someone trying to force their way into his car, Mamoru angry enough to be salivating everywhere as his powerful jaws snapped at the intruder. "Someone's in my car, Squalo."

"The fuck?"

The two hurried outside to confront the person, Mukuro angry that someone was trying to break into his property while Squalo's eyes drifted instantly over to the unmarked police car across the road, not understanding why the cop on duty was doing nothing to stop this.

"Get away from my car!" Mukuro had gathered the other man's attention now, the black-haired individual backing away from the vehicle and turning to face them, a small steel pipe with a bit of blood on it in his hands. Heterochromatic eyes looked to Mamoru, finding blood seeping down the animal's face. "Don't touch that dog!"

Mamoru continued to bark viciously as he tried to jump through the half-open windows, his frame too big to squeeze through easily. He snarled as the man approached Squalo and Mukuro, thrusting himself as hard as he could at the glass which was soon starting to break under his weight.

"The fuck do you want?!" Squalo moved to step in front of Mukuro once the pipe was raised, not about to let _anyone _hurt the younger male. "Back the fuck off!"

Squalo ducked and retaliated with a kick as the pipe was swung at him, knocking the other to the ground. He was about to lean down and take the steel object, only to straighten up and jump backwards at the sound of shattering glass. Mamoru was a blur as he lunged at the fallen man, teeth ripping into skin as he snarled, blood spilling everywhere as the stranger screamed and thrashed beneath the heavy dog.

"Mamoru!" Squalo tried to kick the animal off the man, needing answers from him, but the dog wouldn't back off. "Get off!"

Mukuro grabbed the animal's collar and tugged, only to have sharp teeth sink into his hand and wrist, tearing the flesh apart. He cried out as he tried to push the pet off him, but even with Squalo punching Mamoru in the head, the animal was too crazed to let go.

Squalo ran from them as he remembered the cop car across the road, hoping he could find something – anything! – to save Mukuro from the dog. His eyes widened as he came up to the window, finding a dead man sitting in the driver's seat, what looked to be a stab wound to the temple dribbling blood.

Ignoring the scene, the long-haired man grabbed the gun, taser, and a pair of handcuffs before he went back to the younger's side. He held the gun steady as he aimed it at Mamoru, horrified to find that Mukuro had been knocked to the ground, the dog tearing his arm apart as the blue-haired male used it to stop the animal from going for his throat.

_I wish Xanxus was here… _Squalo gulped as he pulled back the safety, worried that he may accidentally shoot Mukuro instead; unlike Xanxus, who had been shooting guns since he was very young, the silver-haired male had only ever moved the case his lover kept them in – he'd never shot a gun in his life, and in _this _situation…

Trying to hold the gun steady, Squalo pulled the trigger. He wasn't aiming for the dog _exactly, _but he was hoping to shoot close enough to it that the sound would startle it away. The bullet whizzed past Mamoru, grazing his front legs, but the dog only let go of Mukuro and instead turned on him.

"Shit!" Squalo dropped the gun instinctively as he stepped back, bringing the taser in front of him. He closed his eyes as he set it off, hating to hear the animal's yelping as it fell to the ground, twitching from the shocks. Stepping over the animal, he snapped one of the handcuffs onto the unmoving stranger's wrist before locking the other one securely onto Mukuro's car, keeping him there. "Mukuro!"

Mukuro groaned as he sat up, blood flowing down his injured arm and onto his lap. His black jeans were stained with blood, but that was the least of his problems. "Mamoru… That dog doesn't have a vicious bone in its body… Why would it attack us like that?"

Squalo shrugged his jacket from his body as he leant down, wrapping it around Mukuro's arm. He helped the other to his feet and led him over to his own car parked against the curb. He pulled his keys from his pocket and handed them to Mukuro as he said, "Go down the road and call Kyouya. If _anyone _so much as _looks _at you, get the hell out of there."

Mukuro nodded, wincing at the pain in his arm. "Be careful, Squalo."

Squalo didn't wait until Mukuro had left; there could potentially be more than one person around, and if they were in the house…

_Belphegor… _Squalo hoped the two younger males would be alright, but in _this _kind of situation… _You'd better not die, damnit – if anyone's going to kill you, it's going to be _me _for all the fucking hair that's fallen out from you over the years. _

_**~~XX~~**_

When Bel had been startled back into waking consciousness by a gunshot, he instinctively looked around the room. When he found no one but Fran, he wondered if it had been part of his subconsciousness and tried to go back to sleep. His attempts were thwarted, however, when his bedroom door was kicked in and a whole horde of men surrounded the bed.

Obscured eyes widened in horror as they recognised some of the men, knowing they were the ones who had helped to torture him when he was younger. He trembled instinctively, wanting to curl up into a ball and hide, but when a pale hand reached out towards a now-crying Fran, he snarled; his fear all but forgotten – he would _never _abandon Fran to the life they had _both _lived, not if he could help it.

"Don't touch him," Bel snarled. He flinched and pulled away when someone started to caress his face, his heart pounding against his chest. He lunged forward, biting at the hand that was touching him. "Keep your filthy fucking hands off of us…"

"Belphegor, don't you remember how much fun we had together?" The blond shuddered in disgust at these words. "Your father was the one who taught us all we knew; we just _had _to try it out with little Franny, here. We're here to take you both back, though; we're sure you'll be such a great fuck now."

"Over my dead body…" Bel didn't give them time to react; he threw himself forward, not letting _anyone _take Fran away from him again.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Mukuro had been given the all clear to come back to Bel's home, he wasn't surprised to see the multitude of cop cars swarming out the front, as well as the four ambulances on the front lawn. Parking Squalo's car in the driveway behind his own vehicle, the man got out, feeling weak and dizzy from the amount of blood he had lost. He was ushered into an ambulance the second a paramedic saw him, his arm being examined immediately. Squalo was sitting on the one of the beds as his wounds were tended to, ones that were small and didn't look to be dangerous.

"What happened?" Mukuro looked over at Squalo, finding the smaller man looked as annoyed as ever. "Where are Belphegor and Fran? Are they okay?"

Squalo snorted. "Of course they are – did you really think Belphegor would lose in a fight? He's still as savage as ever when he's provoked, and I doubt that'll ever change. He's got a few gashes that are being stitched up, but he'll be fine. Fran's in shock, so he's being monitored for now."

"How'd they get in?"

"Backdoor, I'm guessing. Hibari got here fast, a whole heap of fucking cops with him – it was lucky he brought as many as he did because there was a whole horde of them in the fucking house."

Mukuro frowned. He winced and drew in a sharp breath as a particularly painful feeling in his arm, squeezing his eyes shut as the wound was disinfected. "And the dog?"

"One of the cops took it to the pound. They were going to have it put down but I told Hibari I'd sort it out. They've got it locked up for now."

"It's not a vicious dog…" Mukuro didn't like the idea of the animal being destroyed for something like this; it had probably been pushed past its limits by being hit in the head like it had been – it was understandable it had turned on them all as well. And if Fran lost his dog like this… the poor boy would be heartbroken, he was certain.

"I know it's not; that's why I said it's not to be killed. If I can get it back to Belphegor and Fran, though… They'd better be careful around it just in case."

Mukuro nodded in agreement, hissing in pain; his entire arm had been torn up, and he was certain there would be muscle and perhaps even bone damage due to this – he would never blame the dog, though; it hadn't asked to be abused.

"What of the others?" Mukuro grunted in pain, instinctively jerking his arm back to himself at the pain.

"The one Mamoru attacked ended up dying. Kyouya has suspicions that he was the one to have shot it when Fran was abducted – that's why it was so dangerous. Some of them had to be shot in self-defence, but as far as I know, Kyouya's taken them into custody – he feels that it was the entire group that had attacked."

Mukuro frowned, shaking his head; all this just for one boy… "I hope they all get what's coming to them for what they've done…"

"Kyouya's going to do everything he can to get them the severest punishment possible." Squalo turned to glare out of the ambulance at these words. "Hope he gets them put on death row. If not, I'll torture them to death myself."

"I know you would, Squalo."

It was silent between them for a few minutes more, each focusing on their injuries. They didn't speak again until Bel had come to see them, some gauze on his face and hands as he carried Fran, the boy's arms wrapped around his neck tightly as he trembled. Bel's striped shirt was splattered with blood, but somehow Mukuro had a feeling that most of it was the enemies'; the blond was far too good a fighter to let himself be beaten so easily – especially not when he was trying to protect Fran.

"Squa…?" Bel kept his head down as he stood by the rear of the ambulance, a frown on his face. "Mukuro…? I… I'm sorry for what I said earlier… I didn't mean it…"

Squalo's voice was soft as he, too, apologised. "I'm sorry, too, brat… I shouldn't have said what I did about you and how you look after Fran – you love him and you're doing your best, even when you feel so bad yourself…"

Bel shifted in uneasiness as he nodded. He held Fran tighter, lifting his head to look at the taller two. "…Pineapple…?"

"Yes?" Mukuro offered his gentlest smile, patient with the one he had grown up with.

"I said I was sorry… I was just having a bad day, and… you were doing the right thing by Froggy… I took my problems out on you when you were doing a better job with Froggy than I can do…"

"It's fine, Belphegor." Mukuro was naturally a kind person, quite forgiving to those he cared about – even if he could forever hold grudges towards others he didn't know well. "I understand completely; there's no need to apologise. How is Fran?"

"He's okay…" Bel ran his fingers through teal hair, moving his head to the side so that he could kiss a pale cheek. "He was just shaken up, mostly… I didn't let anyone near him. I think he recognised them because he started crying as soon as they got into our room."

"Poor thing…"

"That guy in your car…" Bel jerked his thumb over at the SUV, his frown deepening. "He was the decoy… They'd been inside for a while and none of us had noticed…"

Before the taller men had a chance to reply, Hibari had approached. He regarded them all before he spoke, relieved that they were okay. "They've all been taken down to the station. I believe there will be no one left to harass any of you, but just for precautions, I'll continue to station officers where they are just so we can be sure."

"Thank you, Kyouya." Squalo sighed, standing up now that his injuries were tended to. He got out of the ambulance, patting Fran's head before he wrapped an arm around Bel's shoulders, pulling him close. "The four of you need to come over for dinner; everyone will be worrying their fucking heads off once they hear what's happened, and it'll be fucking pandemonium if they can't see for themselves that no one's dead except for that one guy."

Bel nodded, leaning into the touch. A small smile graced his lips, just glad to know that, no matter what he had said and done to Squalo and Mukuro earlier, they both loved him enough to still stand by his side, no matter what. He knew he couldn't have asked for a better family, and if there was one thing he had learnt today, it was not to take them for granted.

"I'll text the others and tell them to get their asses over." Squalo pulled his phone from his pocket, getting to work on bringing his family together for the night. "Will you be right to drive, Mukuro?"

"Ah, may I please get a lift? Kufufu~ I probably shouldn't risk it with this injury, you see?"

"Yeah, no shit. When you're ready."

"Thank you, Squalo. You're very kind to us." Mismatched eyes sparkled with joy, loving how close they all were to Squalo.

Squalo couldn't be too sure, but he had a feeling that _finally, _things were over and done with.

**This isn't the ending, even if it seems like it; it's just how the chapter ended. Just thought I should clear that up before anyone thinks it's over. **


	14. Chapter 14

"Bel-senpai…"

Bel looked up from the computer on his lap. He smiled softly at his lover, lifting his legs from the couch so that Fran could sit beside him. "What's up, Froggy?"

Fran slowly lowered himself onto the couch, reaching out to grip the other's blue-and-white striped hoodie to pull himself against the strong body. He rested his head on the other's shoulder, his emerald eyes looking straight ahead. "Mm… I'm hungry…"

Bel raised a hand to rub his thumb against the boy's soft cheek. He leant down, kissing the other's forehead in a loving manner. "Want some pudding? I can make you pudding, Froggy."

The younger nodded, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "Pudding…"

The blond quickly typed that he had to make food to his online friend before he put the laptop on the coffee table and stood up, grabbing Fran's hand as he did so. "C'mon, Froggy. You can help me cook."

Fran's skinny legs slid over the edge of the couch, taking a moment to feel the ground beneath him before he allowed Bel to pull him into a standing position. He walked slowly, his hand held in the larger one, emerald orbs darting around the room as they left it.

The older male was glad that things seemed to be going back to normal after just a month and a half; now that the danger was over, everyone was settling down. He himself was happier again, his cutting having stopped and able to spend more time out of bed with Fran. Fran was also making progress in his recovery; he was talking a bit more, though he still wouldn't hold conversations or say much, and with his physical therapy appointments, his walking was improving, even if he did still fall and had balance issues.

Stepping into the kitchen, Bel moved over to the sink so they could wash their hands. He had to help Fran with this task, but he didn't mind; the fact that the boy could so much as remember to clean his hands before dealing with food meant that he was slowly overcoming the brain damage.

Wiping dry their hands, Bel soon directed his lover over to the fridge so that Fran could get ingredients. He understood when Fran would only bring back one or two items that had been asked for, and when the request was repeated, the boy would either some back with something they didn't need, or had to be told again. Bel was patient with him, knowing the younger was doing his best.

Finally, once everything was ready, the two were getting to work on their pudding, the blond letting Fran help with what he knew the smaller male could handle. Fran was happy, smiling away as he mixed all of the ingredients together, the bowl being held steady by Bel; the boy didn't mean to, but he most certainly was not good at keeping the bowl in one place.

"Alright; we'll put this in the oven and it will be ready soon." Bel waited until Fran had pulled the wooden spoon from the mixing bowl, letting the younger lick it clean as he moved to tip the pudding into an oven-safe container. He put it on high before he set the timer, coaxing Fran back into the living room.

Fran brought the wooden spoon with them, his small tongue licking up the smallest drops of pudding he could find. Bel couldn't help but chuckle; he was just glad that, no matter what, Fran was still as happy as ever – the teal-haired boy was the strongest person Bel knew, and no matter what he had been put through, he just didn't frown; he smiled constantly, soft laughter escaping his lips every now and then. He didn't let his accidents bring him down; if he wet his pants or continuously fell over, he would brush it off with an embarrassed smile, seeking a hug from his lover.

Bel never minded when the younger had accidents; Fran was getting better with them, and that was all that mattered.

"Where's Mamoru…?" Fran whispered, letting himself be pulled onto his lover's lap once they had gotten back to the couch.

"He's outside." Bel glanced over at the ajar sliding door, seeing the dog in question was in the process of chewing up the dog bed they had _just _replaced. He sighed before he lifted a hand, stroking soft teal hair in a loving manner.

Fran nodded. He was silent for a few minutes as he rested peacefully against his boyfriend, hearing the other flicking through TV channels. He then said, "I don't like his new collar…"

"Why not? It has stripes."

"It's ugly…" Fran nestled closer, letting his eyes slip closed. "I like his old collar better…"

"I know, but he has to wear that one now; it was one of the conditions Squa agreed to so that you could have him back." Bel kissed the boy's temple, running a gentle hand along the small of Fran's back. "What about your new dog? Do you like her?"

Fran nodded, and then changed the subject. "I'm hungry…"

"Pudding's in the oven, Froggy. Patience."

The boy had completely forgotten that food was on its way; he had trouble remembering things, so it wasn't uncommon for the boy to ask several times for food when they had just been in the process of making lunch.

Bel was content as they sat together for a while, the TV playing in the background as they eagerly anticipated the soft ding the oven would make once the pudding was ready.

Once the dessert was dished up and ready to be eaten, Fran ate his with happy noises escaping his lips. Bel found it to be adorable, and felt his mood lifting once he had filled his stomach. The boy lay down with his head in Bel's lap after he had eaten, emerald eyes watching as Bel returned back to the game he had been playing with one of his friends. Fran often closed his eyes at certain times, the movements in the game bringing on bouts of dizziness and nausea. The blond knew his lover got motion sickness, so he always tried his hardest to make the gameplay as smooth as possible whenever Fran watched.

The teal-haired boy didn't pay much attention to the other voice he could hear over the speakers; he simply liked listening to Bel's, finding it soothing to hear him so relaxed as he used Skype to talk to his friends.

"Shishi~"

Fran tilted his head up slightly at Bel's laugh, finding the other looking down at him with a smile.

"He _is _cute, isn't he?" A hand larger than his own caressed teal hair. "You should see him when he's pouting. He's absolutely adorable~"

"He should play with us." Fran blinked at the unfamiliar male voice, wondering if they were talking about him or not. "Does he have his own laptop?"

"He does, but he hasn't used it since the attack." Bel caressed Fran's cheek, turning to look back at his computer. "He might play with us, yeah. I'll set him up on it later and see if he can remember how to use it."

"No rush."

Fran continued to listen to them for a while before he pushed himself up into a sitting position, clambering off the couch in an awkward manner.

"Where are you going, Froggy?" Bel reached out, ghosting his fingertips against the boy's arm.

"Outside…" Fran pointed to the door, his emerald orbs shining.

"Alright." Bel didn't like the younger going outside anymore, but he didn't want to strip the boy of his freedom; he wasn't controlling, and he certainly wanted Fran to be able to live his life instead of being cooped up inside all the time – besides, he was just going out into the backyard to play with the dogs; there wasn't any harm in that.

Fran was slow as he left the living room, holding onto the handrails that Squalo and Tsuna had installed around the house not long ago. He pushed the door open a tad wider before he stepped outside, leaving it open behind him; it was easier to let the dogs come in and out themselves instead of having to get up and open the door for them all the time.

"Mamoru…" Fran approached his puppy, leaning down to take the torn-up dog bed from his pet. "That's Kage's… Leave it alone…"

Fran tugged the bed from the animal's jaws, the dog letting go in order to lick at the boy's hand. His tail wagged happily as he lowered his front legs, barking playfully. Fran didn't understand why Squalo had to register Mamoru as a dangerous dog because the animal hadn't changed one bit.

"Kage…" Fran was quiet as he started bringing the bed back over to the kennels tucked away from the wind. There was another dog laying in one of them, dark eyes watching obediently. The boy reached out, grabbing the golden retriever's collar so he could pull it out from the kennel. The animal was obedient, waiting patiently for its owner to slip the bed back inside.

Back in the house, Bel watched with careful eyes as his lover sat down on the ground, letting Mamoru roughhouse him. He chewed at his lip for a few seconds, deep in thought, before he was snapped out of it by his online friend's voice.

"What's wrong?"

Bel blinked before he looked down at the computer screen again. "…I just get a bit worried when he's outside… That's all… And I'm concerned the dog might attack him…"

"Why would the dog attack him?"

"Because it attacked some of our family that night… It almost had to be put down, but my old guardian registered it as dangerous instead… It attacked in self-defence, but still…"

"I'm sure it'll be alright. Didn't you get another dog for him?"

"A service dog, yeah… I think he still likes Mamoru better, though." Bel sighed. "I tried to have Mamoru trained as a service dog, but it didn't have the right temperament. I had to get another one that had already been trained. …At least this dog doesn't chew everything up and be a fucking nuisance."

The blond's friend laughed. "That's an upside, then."

"Yeah. I've got to go; I was going to take Froggy into town so we've got to get ready. I'll talk to you later."

"Have fun~"

"You, too." Bel shut his laptop down before he placed it on the coffee table. He stood up and stretched, moving to check on Fran. He grabbed the boy's attention before he said, "Put the vest on Kage and grab his leash; come in and get ready once you've done that."

Fran nodded. He pushed Mamoru away before he grabbed the new dog's collar again, dragging it out of its kennel. He didn't mean to be rough with it; he simply had lost the ability to know that he shouldn't be dragging his dog out of its bed the way he was.

"Don't pull on its collar, Froggy; just call its name and it'll come." Bel turned around to head back into the living room, leaving Fran to bring the two dogs inside as well. He moved to the bathroom to have a shower, knowing that his lover could look after himself for a while now that he had a dog trained to help him not only emotionally and mentally, but physically as well.

Bel knew he was doing the right thing by his lover, and though he wasn't particularly fond of having _two _dogs, he could deal with it; anything to make sure Fran would be alright, after all.

**I was going to continue on with this story and further Fran's recovery, but things have happened recently that are messing with my depression. I might just leave this one here for now, but I might come back to it in future. I'm just losing almost all motivation for it, so I don't particularly want to be spending hours a day trying to put out another chapter when I don't want to. **


End file.
